Campaigns and Elections American Style

by Thurber, James A.; Nelson, Candice J.

• ISBN13: 9780813341811
• ISBN10: 0813341817
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-11
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

For the first time, leading political scientists and experienced campaign professionals have come together to consider the nuts-and-bolts of American campaigns and elections in conjunction with academic theories and research. With new and revised essays throughout, this volume provides a real education in practical campaign politics. Academics and campaign professionals describe the innovation and reality of election campaigns as they have evolved over time to culminate in the phenomena of the new town meetings, bus tours, talk radio, infomercials, and focus groups.Campaigns and Elections American Style 2nd Ed.shows how campaign themes and strategy are set, how they are communicated, how advanced campaign tactics are used, why mobilizing volunteers is essential, why early campaign money is worth more, how to get the media to cover a campaign without paying for it, and how to use focus groups, survey research, and media to win elections. Offering a unique and careful mix of Democrat and Republican, academic and practitioner, male and female campaign perspectives, this volume scrutinizes national- and local-level campaigns through the 2000 and 2002 election cycles. Students, citizens, candidates, and campaign managers will learn not only how to win elections, but why it has become imperative to do so in an ethical way. Perfect for a variety of courses in American government, this book is essential reading for political junkies of any stripe and serious students of campaigns and elections.

Author Biography

James A. Thurber is professor of government and director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. Candice J. Nelson is an assistant professor of government at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at The American University and is director of the university's Campaign Management Institute.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
The Transformation of American Campaigns in the Twenty-First Century	1	(16)
James A. Thurber
The Principles of Campaign Planning	17	(20)
William R. Sweeney Jr.
Who Will Vote for You and Why: Designing Campaign Strategy and Message	37	(20)
Joel C. Bradshaw
Candidate Nominations and General Election Strategy	57	(10)
Marni Ezra
Strategy and Tactics for Campaign Fundraising	67	(16)
Norman Cummings
Grace Cummings
Race for the Cash: Competition, Contributions, and Money in the 2002 Elections	83	(7)
Candice J. Nelson
Paid Media Advertising: Political Communication from the Stone Age to the Present	90	(19)
Jay Bryant
Ads Are Us: Political Advertising in a Mass Media Culture	109	(20)
Leonard Steinhorn
Hard Facts: The Media and Elections with a Look at 2000 and 2002	129	(19)
John R. Petrocik
The Ground War: The Importance of Organizing the Field	148	(15)
Will Robinson
The Importance of Field Work in Election Campaigns	163	(10)
Paul S. Herrnson
Campaigning with the Internet: The View from Below	173	(22)
David A. Dulio
Erin O'Brien
Campaign Ethics: Public Perception, Reality, and the Need to Win	195	(10)
Carol Whitney
Campaign Ethics and the Politics of Personal Destruction	205	(18)
Linda L. Fowler
Do Campaigns Matter?	223	(10)
Marni Ezra
Candice J. Nelson
References	233	(14)
About the Contributors	247	(4)
Index	251