The Politics of Congressional Elections

ISBN 13:
9780321070692
ISBN 10:
0321070690
Edition: 5th
Format: Paperback
Copyright: 01/01/2001
Publisher: Longman
Newer Edition

Note: Not guaranteed to come with supplemental materials (access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.)

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Summary

Jacobson's classic work offers readers a systematic and engaging account of what goes on in congressional elections and demonstrates how electoral politics reflect and shape other basic components of our political system. The Fifth Edition brings everything up to date through the 1998 elections, analyzing new electoral trends that have appeared in the 1990sincluding the Republicans' rise to majority status and their current precarious hold on Congresswhile also offering a thorough consideration of impeachment politics in 1998 and 1999.

List of Tables

vii

List of Figures

Preface

Introduction

(4)

The Context

(16)

The Constitutional Framework

(6)

Cogressional Districts

(2)

Partisan Gerrymandering

(1)

Racial Gerrymandering

(1)

States as Electoral Units

(1)

Election Laws

(1)

Political Parties

(3)

Social and Political Contexts

(6)

Congressional Candidates

(36)

The Incumbency Factor

(9)

Measuring the Value of Incumbency

(3)

The Vanishing Marginals

(3)

Sources of the Incumbency Advantage

(10)

The Institutional Characteristics of Congress

(2)

Changes in Voting Behavior

(1)

Constituency Service

(2)

The Variability of the Incumbency Advantage

(1)

Discouraging the Opposition

(4)

Money in Congressional Elections

(6)

The Connection between Money and Success

(3)

Why Campaign Money Is More Important to Challengers

(2)

The Career in the District

(2)

Motivating Challengers

(9)

Congressional Campaigns

(44)

Campaign Money

(20)

Political Action Committees

(12)

Party Money

(6)

Self-Financing by Candidates

(1)

Fundraising Tactics

(1)

Campaign Organizations

(1)

Campaign Strategies

(4)

Campaign Media

(2)

Personal Campaigning

(1)

Campaign Messages

(8)

Challengers' Campaigns

(1)

Going Negative

(2)

Incumbents' Campaigns

(3)

Candidates for Open Seats

(1)

Senate Campaigns

(1)

``Voter Education'' and ``Issue Advocacy'' Campaigns

(1)

Concluding Observations

(7)

Congressional Voters

101

(40)

Turnout in Congressional Elections

101

(1)

Who Votes?

102

(3)

Partisanship in Congressional Elections

105

(5)

Alternative Interpretations of Party Identification

105

(2)

Partisanship and Voting

107

(3)

Information and Voting

110

(13)

Recall and Recognition of Candidates

111

(5)

Contacting Voters

116

(5)

The Effects of Campaign Spending

121

(2)

Models of Voting Behavior

123

(2)

Evaluating Incumbents

125

(7)

Winning Challengers

132

(2)

Issues in Congressional Elections

134

(7)

National Politics and Congressional Elections

141

(70)

Political Interpretations of Congressional Elections

142

(4)

Models of Aggregate Congressional Election Results

143

(3)

Presidential Coattails

146

(7)

National Conditions and Strategic Politics

153

(7)

Campaign Themes

159

(1)

House Election, 1980-1998

160

(35)

1980

160

(1)

1982

161

(2)

1984

163

(3)

1986

166

(1)

1988

167

(2)

1990

169

(2)

1992

171

(7)

1994

178

(2)

The Clinton Problem

180

(2)

Nationalizing the Vote

182

(3)

1996

185

(2)

The Campaigns

187

(2)

1998

189

(1)

The Scandal and the Campaigns

190

(5)

House Election Patterns, 1980-1998

195

(1)

Senate Elections, 1980-1998

196

(15)

Elections and the Politics of Congress

211

(26)

The Congressional Parties

213

(2)

The Committee Systems

215

(2)

Making Policy

217

(10)

Particularism

217

(3)

Serving the Organized

220

(2)

Immobility

222

(1)

Symbolism

223

(1)

Doing the Right Thing

223

(2)

Building Coalitions

225

(2)

The Budgetary Process

227

(10)

Representation, Responsibility, Impeachment Politics, and the Future of Congressional Elections

237

(34)

Representation

237

(4)

Policy Congreuence

239

(1)

Beyond Policy Congruence

239

(1)

Descriptive Representation

240

(1)

Responsiveness without Responsibility

241

(1)

The Revival of Party Cohesion

242

(12)

Ideological Polarization in Congress and the Electorate

245

(3)

Party Polarization: The Electoral Connection

248

(2)

Diverging Electoral Constituencies

250

(1)

Chicken or Egg?

251

(3)

Party Polarization and the Politics of Impeachment

254

(5)

Divided Government in the 1990s

259

(2)

Reforming Congress

261

(3)

Term Limits

262

(2)

The Public's Evaluations of Congress

264

(1)

Toward the Millennium

265

(6)

Bibliography

271

(17)

Index

288

The Politics of Congressional Elections

9780321070692

0321070690

Summary

Table of Contents

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