Congressional Elections

Now updated with coverage of the 1996 elections, Congressional Elections is for everyone who wants to know what's involved in running for Congress. Drawing on survey results and interviews with hundreds of candidates, campaign aids, party officials, political action committee managers, and political consultants, the book explores what it takes (candidates, strategies and campaign organizations) to win an election, and presents a compelling, fact-based picture of the two races all successful congressional candidates must win: one at home to win votes in their districts and one in Washington to gain support of national political leaders.

Paul S. Herrnson--is professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 3
The Strategic Context	p. 8
The Candidate-Centered Campaign	p. 8
The Institutional Framework	p. 10
Political Culture	p. 19
Campaign Technology	p. 21
The Political Setting	p. 23
Recent Congressional Elections	p. 28
Summary	p. 35
Candidates and Nominations	p. 36
Strategic Ambition	p. 37
Passing the Primary Test	p. 49
Nominations, Elections, and Representation	p. 56
The Senate	p. 66
Summary	p. 69
The Anatomy of a Campaign	p. 70
Campaign Organizations	p. 71
Campaign Budgets	p. 80
Senate Campaigns	p. 82
Summary	p. 82
The Parties Campaign	p. 84
National Agenda Setting	p. 85
The National, Congressional, and Senatorial Campaign Committees	p. 88
Strategy, Decision Making, and Targeting	p. 90
Campaign Contributions and Coordinated Expenditures	p. 93
Campaign Services	p. 100
Independent Expenditures and Issue Advocacy	p. 111
The Impact of Party Campaigning	p. 115
Summary	p. 119
The Interests Campaign	p. 120
The Rise of PACs	p. 121
Strategy, Decision Making, and Targeting	p. 126
Contributions	p. 133
Campaign Services	p. 137
Independent Expenditures and Issue Advocacy	p. 140
The Impact of Interest Group Activity	p. 146
Summary	p. 149
The Campaign for Resources	p. 150
Inequalities in Resources	p. 151
House Incumbents	p. 154
House Challengers	p. 163
Candidates for Open House Seats	p. 170
Senate Campaigns	p. 175
Summary	p. 179
Campaign Strategy	p. 180
Voting Behavior	p. 180
Voters and Campaign Strategy	p. 184
Gauging Public Opinion	p. 186
Voter Targeting	p. 189
The Message	p. 192
Summary	p. 203
Campaign Communications	p. 204
Television Advertising	p. 205
Radio Advertising	p. 210
Newspaper Advertising	p. 211
Direct-Mail Advertising	p. 212
The Internet	p. 213
Free Media	p. 215
Field Work	p. 219
The Importance of Different Communications Techniques	p. 220
Summary	p. 222
Candidates, Campaigns, and Electoral Success	p. 225
House Incumbent Campaigns	p. 226
House Challenger Campaigns	p. 231
House Open-Seat Campaigns	p. 237
Senate Campaigns	p. 239
Claiming Credit and Placing Blame	p. 243
Summary	p. 247
Elections and Governance	p. 249
The Permanent Campaign	p. 249
A Decentralized Congress	p. 252
Political Parties as Centralizing Agents	p. 256
Responsiveness, Responsibility, and Public Policy	p. 257
Summary	p. 264
Campaign Reform	p. 265
The Case for Reform	p. 265
Recommendations	p. 275
Prospects for Reform	p. 283
Conclusion	p. 286
Notes	p. 288
Index	p. 318
Notes Name Index	p. 329
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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Congressional Elections

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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