Combining top-notch research with real-world politics, this sixth edition provides a thorough and evenhanded assessment of congressional campaigns and elections. Herrnson’s popular book 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 looks at how this dual strategy affects who wins and ultimately the entire electoral system.

New coverage includes:

• cases studies from the 2010 midterm elections;
• the impact of the Tea Party on fundraising and election outcomes;
• the effect of the Citizens United and other recent cases on corporate, trade association, and labor union spending;
• the fundraising advantages, strategies, and spending practices of different interest group entities—PACs, Super PACs, 527s, and 501(C)s;
• the pervasive use of social media and Internet campaigns to raise money, communicate with voters, and recruit volunteers at low cost.

• cases studies from the 2010 elections;
• the impact of the Tea Party on fundraising and election outcomes;
• the effect of the Citizens United and other recent cases on corporate, trade association, and labor union spending;
• untangling the web of PACs, Super PACs, 527s, and 501(C)s and their fundraising and spending advantages;
• the pervasive use of social media and Internet campaigns to raise money, communicate with voters, and recruit volunteers.

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Introduction

1. The Strategic Context

 2. Candidates and Nominations

3. The Anatomy of a Campaign

4. The Parties Campaign

5. The Interests Campaign

6. The Campaign for Resources

7. Campaign Strategy

8. Campaign Communications

9. Candidates, Campaigns, and Electoral Success

10. Elections and Governance

11. Campaign Reform

Congressional Elections provides exceptional insights into the internal workings of political campaigns and the strategies and activities of political parties and PACs. The book’s portrayal of the campaigns candidates wage to win votes represents a rare melding of academic insight and practical politics.”

Paul Herrnson’s Congressional Elections combines both cutting-edge research and great case studies into one extremely readable book. This book is an excellent source for students, candidates, and political strategists.”

The strength of the Herrnson book is readability. This is a very approachable book for undergraduates. Herrnson presents up-to-date evidence and the latest in political science research on congressional elections and does so in a way that students can easily understand. The book also provides a fabulous set of engaging and informative case studies.”

In Congressional Elections, Paul Herrnson provides a comprehensive, up-to-date account of the actors, resources, and strategies central to the dynamics of congressional campaigns. Combining case studies and quantitative analysis, Herrnson constructs an engaging narrative that shows readers what it takes to win or hold a seat in Congress. The narrative closes with an assessment of the impact of congressional elections on the governing process, raising serious questions about the nature of representation in the United States.”

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 Party Campaigning in the 1980s and coauthor of Voting Technology: The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot and The Financiers of Congressional Elections. He is coeditor of several volumes, including The Interest Group Connection; War Stories from Capitol Hill; and Responsible Partisanship? The Evolution of American Political Parties since 1950. He has written numerous articles on Congress, campaign finance, political parties, and elections. He has served as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow and has received several teaching awards, including a Distinguished Scholar-Teaching Award from the University of Maryland.

INSTRUCTOR'S RESOURCES:

To use the many tables, figures, and maps in the book in your classroom, please go to:

college.cqpress.com/sites/partiesandelectionsir/Home.aspx

to download all the book's graphics (available in PDF and PowerPoint).