"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.
Paul S. Herrnson is director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship and professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland. He is the author of Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington, 4th ed. (2004) and Party Campaigning in the 1980s (1988) and coauthor of The Financiers of Congressional Elections (2003). He is coeditor of several volumes, including War Stories from Capitol Hill (2003), Responsible Partisanship? The Evolution of American Political Parties Since 1950 (2003), Multiparty Politics in America, 2nd ed. (2002), and Playing Hardball: Campaigning for the U.S. Congress (2000). He has served as an American Political Science Association congressional fellow and has received several teaching awards, including an Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Maryland. Costas Panagopoulos is a visiting professor of Political Science and a fellow at the Center for the Study of American Politics at Yale University for the 2015-2016 academic year. He is also Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy and the graduate program in Elections and Campaign Management at Fordham University. A leading expert on campaigns and elections, voting behavior, media and public opinion, campaign strategy and campaign finance, Dr. Panagopoulos has published numerous book and dozens of articles, including A Citizens' Guide to U.S. Elections: Empowering Democracy in America (coauthored with Aaron Weinschenk, Routledge, 2016). He has also been part of the Decision Desk team at NBC News since the 2006 election cycle. In 1992, while a student at Harvard University, Dr. Panagopoulos was a candidate for the Massachusetts State Legislature.
Tables and Figures Preface Authorship and Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 The Strategic Context The Candidate-Centered Campaign The Institutional Framework Political Culture Campaign Technology The Political Setting Recent Congressional Elections Chapter 2 Candidates and Nominations Strategic Ambition Passing the Primary Test Nominations, Elections, and Representation The Senate Chapter 3 The Anatomy of a Campaign Campaign Organizations Campaign Budgets Senate Campaigns Chapter 4 The Parties Campaign National Agenda-Setting National, Congressional, and Senatorial Campaign Committees Strategy, Decision-Making, and Targeting Campaign Contributions and Coordinated Expenditures Campaign Services Outside Campaigns The Impact of Party Campaigning Chapter 5 The Interests Campaign Organizing for Electoral Influence Strategy, Decision-Making, and Targeting PAC Contributions Campaign Services Outside Campaigns The Impact of Interest Group Activity Chapter 6 The Campaign for Resources Inequalities in Resources House Incumbents House Challengers Candidates for House Open Seats Senate Campaigns Single-Candidate Super PACs and 501(c) Organizations Female Candidates, Political Movements, and Campaign Fundraising Chapter 7 Campaign Strategy Voting Behavior Voters and Campaign Strategy Gauging Public Opinion Voter Targeting The Message Chapter 8 Campaign Communications Television Advertising Radio Advertising Newspaper Advertising Direct Mail and Newsletters Telephone Calls Digital Advertising Free Media Attracting Coverage Fieldwork The Importance of Different Communications Techniques Outside Campaigns Chapter 9 Candidates, Campaigns, and Electoral Success House Incumbent Campaigns House Challenger Campaigns House Open-Seat Campaigns Senate Campaigns Claiming Credit and Placing Blame Chapter 10 Elections and Governance The Permanent Campaign A Decentralized Congress Political Parties as Centralizing Agents Responsiveness, Responsibility, and Public Policy Chapter 11 Campaign Reform The Case for Reform Obstacles to Reform The BCRA and the DISCLOSE Act The NVRA and the HAVA Some Ideas for Reform Notes Name Index Index
"It is, in my view, the best of the congressional elections texts." -- John Dinan "In a few words: comprehensive, well-written, and timely. Herrnson was among the first to detect the role of the party-in-the-campaign centered in Washington, D.C., and the intervening years have proved him right." -- John White "This book is an excellent, engaging read in which students can learn a lot about the myths and realities of how congressional elections operate." -- Ken Moffett
