Drawn from cutting-edge research by leading scholars in the field, this book focuses on the major obstacles politicians must confront when competing in congressional elections. The book examines candidate emergence strategy and targeting, fund-raising guidelines, negative advertising and voter mobilization. It provides readers with a manageable perspective on congressional elections and real-life American politics, enhancing readers' ability to make the connections between the theory and practice of politics. The essays address the campaign process and decision-making, the candidates, campaign finances, campaign staff and voter communication techniques. For individuals interested in the election process and political campaigning.

Playing Hardball: Campaigning for the U.S. Congress

Politics & Social Sciences

Herrnson, Paul S.

Politics & Government

Pearson

An insider account of how Congress works, this book contains insightful first person reminisces, from former congressional fellows and staffers, about the ins and outs and dos and don'ts of everyday life on Capitol Hill. Each reader-friendly essay focuses on one or more aspects of congressional controversy experienced by the writer, and places the “story” in the broader historical and conceptual framework necessary for understanding how Congress and its members function. These detailed case studies offer a dynamic view of Congress and show how members of Congress balance the demands of constituents, lobbyists, congressional leaders, protesters, and their own consciences when making national policy. Coverage of a wide variety of congressional processes discusses private constituent meetings, speeches, committee hearings and markups, leadership strategy sessions, and the complex web of rules that govern legislative procedures on the floor of the House and the Senate. For anyone interested in national politics, insights from key players in the political system, and a cutting edge perspective of Congress.

War Stories from Capitol Hill

Campbell, Colton C.

This edited collection of original commissioned essays tells the important story of how interest groups and PACs (Political Action Committees) from business, labor, and other activist organizations have worked with the changing rules governing lobbying and "sea change" provided by the Republican Revolution in 1994 to try to achieve their particular goals.  This book shows how Congress and interest groups have interacted, how the current system works, and how certain changes may affect these relationships in the future. The essays, describing the lobbying tactics of business groups like AT&amp;T, labor groups like AFL-CIO, and membership groups like The Sierra Club are written by accomplished political scientists who tell the stories in compelling and provocative ways, and describe how each group has handled the changes under the New Republican Congress.  Anyone with an interest in campaigns, elections, and Congress.

After the Revolution: PACs, Lobbies, and the Republican Congress

Wilcox, Clyde

Biersack, Robert

Longman

Under the Iron Dome

"This book provides a glimpse into the professional lives of members of Congress and the staff, political consultants, and others who work beneath the Capitols iconic dome. It shows some of the historic challenges, daily trials and tribulations, and public and private triumphs and failures that define working life on the Hill. Original chapters by practitioners who have been there offer a fresh understanding of congressional elections, policy making, and party leadership, as well as landmark institutional developments such as the growing influence of women and minorities in the legislative process. Each author brings a personal knowledge of Congress, providing a unique insight into the opaque world of committee assignments, the hustle and bustle of floor activity, the cross-examination of committee testimony, and the beehive of activity in a members Washington or district office. Collectively, they provide keen insights into the institutions, procedures, and politics that shape congressional policymaking. Additionally, the historic two impeachments of President Donald J. Trump are examined to showcase some of the extraordinary politics taking place on Capitol Hill. Aimed at anyone working in Congress or wanting to influence public policy, this book is also an excellent classroom supplement for political science courses at every level and a compelling read for citizens who want to understand how Congress works and why it sometimes doesnt"--

Under the Iron Dome: Congress from the Inside

Dulio, David A.

Routledge

Are American political parties on the way out? Political action committees (PACs) currently compete with parties for influence over candidates and voters; persuading a more independent and volatile electorate requires new tactics; technological innovations afford more sophisticated means to appeal for support. Many political observers express doubts about the ability of political parties to adapt to these changes and to survive, but Paul Herrnson instead suggests their survival and resurgence in this balanced assessment of party activities in congressional elections. 
 Drawing on extensive interviews and survey data collected from nearly five hundred recent House and Senate candidates, campaign advisers, party officials, PAC executives, and journalists, Herrnson evaluates the roles of the national parties. He finds that from the perspective of party executives, they provide important campaign services and function as the key brokers between candidates, PACs, and other campaigners. For PAC officials, the national parties serve as important sources of strategic campaign information and cues for decision-making. For the candidates themselves, their parties function as appendages and accessories to their own campaign organizations. 
 Herrnson provides rich detail on party development and party campaign activity to predict the future of congressional elections and of the party-in-government and the party-in-the-electorate. Political practitioners as well as scholars will welcome this fresh, new contribution to a significant political controversy.

Party Campaigning in the 1980's

Harvard University Press

Voting Technology: The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot

Traugott, Michael W.

Niemi, Richard G.

Conrad, Frederick G.

Hanmer, Michael J.

Bederson, Benjamin B.

Brookings Institution Press

Voting difficulties hung over America's presidential election in 2000 like a dark cloud. Hanging chads, a butterfly ballot, and the Supreme Court remain the most vivid memories of that political donnybrook. Passage of 2002's Help America Vote Act sparked further interest in the physical process of casting a ballot, yet several recent contests still produced confusion at the polls. A solution to at least some of those problems may be found in new technology, but such innovations carry their own concerns and questions. V oting Technology is the first book to investigate in a scientific and authoritative manner how voters respond to the new equipment. The authors —an interdisciplinary group of experts in American elections, political behavior, human-computer interaction, and human factors psychology —assess five commercially available voting systems, each one representing a specific class based on shared design principles, as well as a prototype system not currently available. They evaluate the systems against different criteria (including ease of use, speed, and accuracy) using field experiments, laboratory experiments, and expert reviews. The results reveal the good and bad about the new systems, including specific features that contribute to clarity, confusion, or error. Going beyond the concern with spoiled ballots, they determine whether voters actually cast their ballots for the candidates they intended to support. They address fundamental questions of whether voters like and trust the equipment and whether the various systems are equally usable by all voters. Their research also opens up an entirely new line of inquiry by asking about the interaction between ballot format and voter behavior. The concluding chapter pulls together best practices that will guide manufacturers of voting systems, ballot designers, election officials, political observers, and of course, voters. In a political system based on free exercise of personal choice, the least we can do is make sure our choices are being accurately recorded and counted.

Science & Math

Technology

Arguing that successful candidates run two campaigns-one for votes, the other for resources, Herrnson uses campaign finance data, original survey research, and hundreds of interviews to look at how this dual strategy affects the electoral system. New coverage includes: • 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.

Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington

Social Sciences

Cq Pr

Arguing that successful candidates run two campaigns-one for votes, the other for resources, Herrnson uses campaign finance data, original survey research, and hundreds of interviews to look at how this dual strategy affects the electoral system.   New coverage includes:  • 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.

Praised for combining solid empirical research with real-world politics, Paul Herrnson provides a thorough and balanced assessment of congressional campaigns and elections. Arguing that successful candidates actually run two campaigns― one for votes, the other for resources―Congressional Elections shows how this dual strategy affects not only who wins individual races, but who impacts representation in Congress more broadly, and ultimately the entire electoral system. Using campaign data, original survey research, and hundreds of interviews with candidates and political insiders, Herrnson systematically analyzes candidate, party, and PAC strategies to give students a feel for how these crucial avenues of political influence converge. Case studies of individual campaigns are woven throughout to paint vivid portraits of real people raising money, giving speeches, serving constituents, and tackling important policy issues. New coverage and analysis include: 
<ul>
<li>the 2006 campaign and election results, including the impact the national parties had on the outcomes of individual races;</li>
<li>the Democrats winning control over the House and Senate;</li>
<li>the effects of the war in Iraq and political corruption on candidates′ issue positioning;</li>
<li>the role of the Internet in waging political campaigns;</li>
<li>the use of outside campaigning, advocacy ads, and grassroots activities to influence election outcomes.</li>
</ul>

CQ Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Herrnson, Paul S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Herrnson, Paul S.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Herrnson, Paul S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Playing Hardball: Campaigning for the U.S. Congress

War Stories from Capitol Hill

After the Revolution: PACs, Lobbies, and the Republican Congress

Under the Iron Dome: Congress from the Inside

Party Campaigning in the 1980's

Voting Technology: The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot

Voting Technology: The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot

Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington

Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington

Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington