Dr. David A. Jones teaches courses and conducts research in U.S. politics, particularly in the areas of elections and media. He has served on the JMU Washington Semester faculty since 2000 and directed the program until 2024. His upcoming book, Making Washington Internships Work, will be published by Georgetown University Press. His book Managing the Chaos: Political Campaigning in the U.S. (Rowman & Littlefield) is based on the Political Campaigning course he has taught since 1998. Another book, U.S. Media & Elections in Flux: Dynamics and Strategies, was published by Routledge in 2016. His papers have been published in Political Communication, the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, the Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Politics & Policy, and P.S.: Political Science & Politics.

In 2017, he received the Provost's Distinguished Service Award. He is now teaching a course on Political Communication & Policy Advocacy for JMU’s European Union Policy Studies M.A. in Political Science program located in Florence, Italy.