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:

• the 2006 campaign and election results, including the impact the national parties had on the outcomes of individual races;
• the Democrats winning control over the House and Senate;
• the effects of the war in Iraq and political corruption on candidates' issue positioning;
• the role of the Internet in waging political campaigns;
• the use of outside campaigning, advocacy ads, and grassroots activities to influence election outcomes.

Introduction

1. The Strategic Context

2. Candidates and Nominations

3. The Anatomy of a Campaign

4. The Parties Campaign

5. The Interests Campaign

6. The Campaign for Resources

7. Campaign Strategy

8. Campaign Communications

9. Candidates, Campaigns, and Electoral Success

10. Elections and Governance

11. Campaign Reform

"Herrnson’s book is the gold standard for research on congressional elections. Relying both on data analysis and insider perspectives, the author skillfully weaves the chapters into an informative narrative regarding contemporary campaigns. Students will gain great insights into the myths and realities of American politics."

"Congressional Elections provides exceptional insights into the internal workings of political campaigns and the strategies and activities of political parties and PACs. The book’s portrayal of the campaigns candidates wage to win votes represents a rare melding of academic insight and practical politics."

"Paul Herrnson’s Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington combines both cutting-edge research and great case studies into one extremely readable book. This book is an excellent source for students, candidates, and political strategists."

"Herrnson’s book is well suited both for Congress courses and Campaigns and Elections courses. He covers all of the key stages of the congressional campaign, from nominations to the general election to the impact on governance. And he assesses each of the principal actors, from parties to PACs to consultants to the media. Students particularly appreciate the comprehensive charts and statistics detailing changing patterns of congressional elections as well as the illustrative examples and analyses drawn from recent House and Senate campaigns."

"Understanding Congressional decision making and how Congress works demands an understanding of the factors that drive Congressional elections. Weaving in primary data from a variety of sources, Herrnson provides a lucid, comprehensive, and up to date picture of how candidates, groups, and parties compete in modern Congressional campaigns. This book continues to be an extraordinarily valuable resource for both students and scholars of the United States Congress. It is good political science and good politics."

"Herrnson’s Congressional Elections’ main strength is in the details, particularly its discussion of campaigns. The text presents an impressive array of facts and anecdotes about House and Senate races, backed up with sharp insight. Herrnson is more deeply immersed in congressional elections than any political scientist I know, and it shows here. Herrnson uses examples from recent elections, and delves deeply into a handful of campaigns. He provides information from a variety of studies and surveys he has conducted, and he presents an extensive array of campaign-finance statistics. There are enormous opportunities here to use Congressional Elections to supplement lectures and to illustrate points of interest. The pace is quick, and no one can read it without feeling that they are learning something about congressional campaigns and elections."

"Herrnson’s Congressional Elections continues to be a valuable contribution to the understanding of Congress, members of Congress, and candidate behavior. It is rare that a book which is so theoretically grounded is also so accessible to students and the public. The strength of the book lies in how it identifies and explores to two very real campaigns that members of Congress face: the traditional campaign for votes, as well as the campaign for campaign contributions. Except for members of Congress in the safest of districts, these twin campaigns are both critically important, and members of Congress know it. It is important that both students and the public know it as well."

Paul S. Herrnson is director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship and professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland. He is the author of Party Campaigning in the 1980s and coauthor of Voting Technology: The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot and The Financiers of Congressional Elections. He is coeditor of several volumes, including The Interest Group Connection; War Stories from Capitol Hill; and Responsible Partisanship? The Evolution of American Political Parties since 1950. He has written numerous articles on Congress, campaign finance, political parties, and elections. He has served as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow and has received several teaching awards, including a Distinguished Scholar-Teaching Award from the University of Maryland.