The Politics of Congressional Elections

by Gary C. Jacobson University of California, San Diego, Jamie L. Carson University of Georgia

Overview

Jacobson and Carson provide students with a comprehensive introduction to congressional elections and the electoral process. The tenth edition offers an engaging examination of congressional candidates, campaigns, and elections by incorporating coverage of the most recent elections and the changing roles of voters, incumbents, challengers, and campaign contributions. It examines the first two years of the Trump presidency and its impact on the 2018 midterms with respect to the large number of female candidates running for office and the enormous amounts of money spent by challengers. This edition also highlights the referendum narrative underlying the election in response to behavior and events in the Trump administration. By pairing historical data analysis and original research with fundamental concepts of representation and responsibility, The Politics of Congressional Elections presents students with the tools to evaluate representative government, as well as their own role in the electoral process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538123416
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/02/2019
Edition description:	Tenth Edition
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	5.96(w) x 9.01(h) x 0.57(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Gary C. Jacobson is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science at UCSD. His field of interest is American national politics, with a subfield focus on Congress and congressional elections. He is the author of Money in Congressional Elections; The Politics of Congressional Elections; and The Electoral Origins of Divided Government; and co-author of Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections, American Parties in Decline, and The Logic of American Politics. His current research is on the electoral basis of partisan polarization in Congress.

Jamie Carson is the UGA Athletic Association Professor of Public and International Affairs II in the Department of Political Science at the University of Georgia. His research interests include American politics and methods. He regularly teaches courses on the U.S. Congress, the presidency, the politics of congressional elections, and American political development. Recent books include (with Joel Sievert) Electoral Incentives in Congress (2018) and (with John Aldrich, Brad Gomez, and David W. Rohde) Change and Continuity in the 2016 and 2018 Elections (2020).

Table of Contents

List of Figures ix

List of Tables xiii

Preface xv

About the Authors xix

1 Introduction 1

2 The Context 7

The Constitutional Framework 8

Congressional Districts 9

Partisan Gerrymandering 12

Redistricting between Censuses 16

Racial Gerrymandering 17

Bipartisan Gerrymanders 19

The Republican Advantage in House Districts 22

States as Electoral Units 25

Election Laws 26

Political Parties 29

Social and Political Contexts 33

Conclusion 36

3 Congressional Candidates 37

The Incumbency Factor 37

Measuring the Value of Incumbency 42

The Vanishing Marginals 45

Sources of the Incumbency Advantage 49

The Institutional Characteristics of Congress 49

Changes in Voting Behavior 51

Constituency Service 52

The Variability of the Incumbency Advantage 55

Discouraging the Opposition 56

Money in Congressional Elections 67

The Connection between Money and Success 68

Why Campaign Money Is More Important to Challengers Than to Incumbents 73

The Career in the District 76

Motivating Challengers 79

4 Congressional Campaigns 85

Campaign Money 87

Contributions to Candidates 90

PACs 90

PACs and the Pivotal 1994 Election 95

Party Money 97

Contributions from Other Members of Congress 106

Self-Financing by Candidates 110

Fund-Raising Tactics and Donors 111

Independent, Voter-Education, and Issue-Advocacy Campaigns 115

Campaign Organizations 119

Campaign Strategies 121

Campaign Media 125

Personal Campaigning 129

Campaign Messages 132

Challengers' Campaigns 133

Going Negative 136

Incumbents' Campaigns 139

Candidates for Open Seats 145

Senate Campaigns 147

Manipulating Turnout 149

Conclusion 152

5 Congressional Voters 155

Turnout in Congressional Elections 155

Who Votes? 157

Partisanship in Congressional Elections 161

Alternative Interpretations of Party Identification 161

Partisanship and Voting 165

Partisanship and Incumbency 169

Information and Voting 171

Recall and Recognition of Candidates 172

Contacting Voters 178

Changing Evaluations Of Incumbents 183

Issues In Congressional Elections 187

6 National Politics and Congressional Elections 193

Political Interpretations of Congressional Elections 197

Models of Aggregate Congressional Election Results 199

Presidential Coattails 204

National Conditions and Strategic Politics 212

Campaign Themes 220

House Elections, 1992-2018 221

1992-2000 221

2002-2010 226

2012-2016 233

The 2018 Midterm Election 235

Senate Elections, 1992-2018 240

1992-2000 240

2002-2010 243

2012-2018 250

Conclusion 256

7 Elections, Representation, and the Politics of Congress 259

Representation 260

Policy Congruence 261

The Changing Relationship Between Constituencies and Roll-Call Votes 263

Constituents, Interests, and Causes 267

Representation by Referendum 268

Descriptive Representation 269

Policy Consequences 271

Particularism 271

Serving the Organized 274

Responsiveness without Responsibility 277

The Congressional Parties: Decline and Revival 279

The Revival of Party Cohesion, 1980-2018 282

Ideological Polarization in Congress and the Electorate 285

Polarization in Presidential Support 285

Party Polarization: The Electoral Connection 287

Diverging Electoral Constituencies 292

Chicken or Egg? 295

The Downside of Strong Parry Government 297

The Public's Evaluations of Congress 299

Reforming Congress 302

Term Limits 303

2020 and Beyond: Geography, Demography, and Trump 307

Bibliography 313

Index 337

Editorial Reviews

This is the most comprehensive and authoritative account of how congressional elections work. It is the book of record for anyone who wants to know how elections have changed over the past thirty years, and how elections can change the way congress operates.

Robert Boatwright

This single volume contains all that a student would need to know to achieve a firm grasp of congressional elections… I would not adopt any title other than Jacobson’s Politics of Congressional Elections. It is the best of the breed.

Ross K. Baker

Jacobson (political science, U. of California-San Diego) systematically examines how congressional elections work, emphasizing how electoral politics reflect and shape other basic components of our political system. Updated through the 1998 elections and the impeachment politics of 1998 and 1999. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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