"It is the gold standard for texts on congressional campaigns and elections." - Bruce A. Larson, Gettysburg College In Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington authors Paul Herrnson and Costas Panagopoulos combine top-notch research with real-world politics as they argues that successful candidates run two campaigns: one for votes, the other for resources. Using campaign finance data, original survey research, and hundreds of interviews with candidates and political insiders, Herrnson and Panagopoulos look at how this dual strategy affects who wins and how it ultimately shapes the entire electoral system. The Eighth Edition considers the impact of the Internet and social media on campaigning in the 2018 elections; the growing influence of interest groups; and the influence of new voting methods on candidate, party, and voter mobilization tactics.
New scholarship for a new paradigm in interest groups politics... The 2010 campaign and election was pivotal: the Republican takeover of the House, the advent of "super PACs," and record-breaking sums spent on a midterm election. More than ever before, interest groups were able to mobilize new resources and new technologies in a shifting set of House and Senate races. This timely volume explores-in a series of lively case studies-a cross-section of groups, communities, and networks that vividly illustrates the "unleashing" of interest group activity in the electoral process in response to Citizens United and other court cases and events.
This unique reader examines a broad sample of campaigns and gives students a real flavor of campaign politics by including some of the most interesting, colorful, and surprising races. Combining on-the-ground accounts with links to scholarship, the nineteen case studies drawn from Campaigns and Elections magazine take students behind the scenes to unveil the strategies, techniques, and personalities that drive contemporary campaigns. National, state, and local races receive attention, as do state and local referenda. In their introduction, the editors a distinguished group of scholars and experts on campaign management provide helpful background information about the cases. They look at the major influences on and general trends in contemporary electoral politics, including issues, parties, campaign finance, incumbency, and initiative voting. Understanding these factors will help students recognize how each case fits into a broader whole even as that case reflects a uniqueness that makes political campaigns so fascinating.The cases are illustrated with photos, clips from print and television campaign ads, excerpts from campaign literature, and various tables and scoreboards with polling and election return data.
Campaigns are a critical part of the political process in the United States, but until now, reference sources on campaigns have only covered selected parts of the process or have been written for political insiders. The Guide to Political Campaigns in America is the first resource to examine and explain every aspect of campaigns in a manner that satisfies the needs of many different audiences. This unique and comprehensive volume explores history, issues, processes and people, and types of campaigns. Editor Paul Herrnson, a well-respected government and politics scholar who has worked on many campaigns himself, brings to the work a dynamic combination of high-level scholarship and hands-on experience that sets this guide apart from all other campaign resources. Readers will find information on every aspect of political campaigning in America, including: The evolution of political campaigns; The political and regulatory environment of campaigning, including suffrage and ballot access; The importance of the voters and what influences the vote; The key players in the campaign organization, including the candidate and various managers; Other players who interact with the campaign, including the media and political parties; Key strategies and tactics, such as polling and campaign financing; Specific types of campaigns, including the well known, such as the presidency, House, Senate, governorship, and key state and local races; as well campaigns for the judiciary and for initiatives and referenda; Campaign and election reform. The expansive coverage and distinctive approach of this resource will appeal to a wide variety of library patrons, including students, professors, teachers of AP high school courses, and professionals in the media and campaigning fields.
Electioneering, Lobbying, and Policymaking in Washington
With Congress more partisan than ever, the White House eager to mobilize group support, the appropriations process in ?ux, and important interest group litigation in the courts, this volume con?rms that navigating the complex world of inside-the-beltway politics is especially tricky. For interest groups, the name of the game is access. The Interest Group Connection's twenty chapters show how organized interests gain that access in Washington. Brief and accessible readings explore the connections between lobbyists' in?uence and American policymaking institutions and processes, as well as the crucial role interest groups play in organizing constituencies, protecting their rights, and giving them entree into the political process. Given the current environment-new campaign ?nance laws, the prevalence of "527" committees, and a near-even electoral environment-the second edition provides an inside look at a changed political world.
