Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office

by Jennifer L. Lawless

• ISBN13: 9780521756600
• ISBN10: 052175660X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office explores the factors that drive political ambition at the earliest stages. Using data from a comprehensive survey of thousands of eligible candidates, Jennifer L. Lawless systematically investigates what compels certain citizens to pursue elective positions and others to recoil at the notion. Lawless assesses personal factors, such as race, gender and family dynamics, that affect an eligible candidate's likelihood of considering a run for office. She also focuses on eligible candidates' professional lives and attitudes toward the political system.

Author Biography

Jennifer L. Lawless is an Associate Professor of Government at American University, where she is also the Director of the Women Politics Institute.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. xi
List of Figures	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Mudslinging, Money-Grubbing, and Mayhem: Who Would Ever Run for Office?	p. 1
The Importance of Studying the Initial Decision to Run for Office	p. 6
Organization of the Book	p. 10
The Decision to Run for Office: The Theoretical and Methodological Approach	p. 14
The Initial Decision to Run for Office: Developing a More Complete Theory of Political Ambition	p. 16
The Citizen Political Ambition Panel Study	p. 24
Political Ambition in the Candidate Eligibility Pool	p. 31
Candidate Emergence from the Eligibility Pool	p. 35
Who Runs for Office? Eligible Candidates' Expressive Ambition	p. 35
Who Considers Running for Office? Eligible Candidates' Nascent Ambition	p. 37
Predicting Nascent Ambition: The Null Effects of the Political Opportunity Structure	p. 40
Dynamic Ambition in the Candidate Eligibility Pool	p. 42
Conclusion	p. 48
Barack Obama and 18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling: Sex, Race, and Political Ambition	p. 49
The Politics of Exclusion: Sex, Race, and the Conventional Explanations for Numeric Underrepresentation	p. 53
Sex, Race, and Political Ambition: Existing Literature and Competing Expectations	p. 57
Similarities in Political Participation, Proximity, and Interest: An Overview by Sex and Race	p. 60
Sex, Race, and Interest in Running for Office	p. 66
Sex, Race, and Changes in Interest in Running for Office: Predicting Dynamic Ambition	p. 73
Conclusion	p. 74
You Could Be President Someday! Early Socialization, the Role of Family, and Political Ambition	p. 77
In the Genes: The Lifelong Effects of a Politicized Upbringing	p. 78
The Influence of Family Structures and Roles on Political Ambition	p. 86
Changes in Family Circumstances: Predicting Dynamic Ambition	p. 99
Conclusion	p. 102
On-the-job Training: Professional Circumstances and the Decision to Run for Office	p. 104
Professional Differences and Political Ambition in the Candidate Eligibility Pool: A Bivariate Analysis	p. 106
The Role of Income and Financial Success	p. 110
The Role of Professionally Conferred Political Proximity	p. 114
The Role of Professional Credentials and Qualifications	p. 117
A Side Note on the Gender Gap in Perceptions of Qualifications	p. 121
The Impact of Professional Circumstances on Political Ambition: Multivariate Results	p. 124
Changes in Professional Circumstances: Predicting Dynamic Ambition	p. 129
Conclusion	p. 133
You Think I Should Run for Office? Political Parties, Political Recruitment, and Political Ambition	p. 135
Eligible Candidates' Political Attitudes and Partisanship	p. 137
Who Gets Asked to Run for Office?	p. 142
Political Recruitment and Considering a Candidacy	p. 150
Changes in Relationships With and About the Political Parties: Predicting Dynamic Ambition	p. 155
Conclusion	p. 161
Biting the Bullet: Deciding to Run for Office	p. 164
So Many Reasons Not to Run for Office: Negative Perceptions of the Electoral Environment and the Campaign Process	p. 166
Fundraising as a Deterrent to Running for Office	p. 170
Invasion of Privacy as a Deterrent to Running for Office	p. 172
Negative Campaigning as a Deterrent to Running for Office	p. 174
Expressing That Ambition: The Decision to Enter an Actual Race	p. 176
The Role of the Political Opportunity Structure	p. 185
Conclusion	p. 186
Future Patterns of Candidate Emergence and Studies of Political Ambition	p. 188
Summary of the Findings: Contemporary Patterns of Candidate Emergence	p. 190
Implications for Candidate Emergence and the Study of Political Ambition	p. 195
The Citizen Political Ambition Panel Study	p. 201
The First Wave Survey (2001)	p. 204
The Second Wave Survey (2008)	p. 217
The First Wave Interview Questionnaire	p. 229
The Second Wave Interview Questionnaire	p. 234
Coding of Variables	p. 239
Works Cited	p. 251
Index	p. 269
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