Reading Guide: The Politics of Congressional Elections, 5th edition

The following guide is intended to draw attention to the main points of each of the chapters in Jacobson. You should be able to: 1) describe or define each of the terms, 2) explain their significance for understanding or assessing congressional elections (and the implications for representation and lawmaking in Congress), and 3) discuss the relationships between the terms.

book's purposes

"micro" and "macro" aspects of congressional elections

U.S. Constitutional rules for the selection of members of Congress

malapportionment

gerrymandering -- racial and partisan

"skewed" representation in the U.S. Senate and its effects

Australian ballot

party column v. office bloc ballots

why state and local political parties now typically have little control over party nominees for congressional seats

variations in social and political contexts among states and U.S. House districts

why there is an "incumbency advantage"

why the incumbency advantage is "neither automatic, nor certain, nor constant across electoral contexts" (p. 21)

incumbency advantage in the House v. that in the Senate

sophomore surge

retirement slump

slurge and the Gelman-King index between 1946 and 1998

"vanishing marginals"

direct, scare-off, and quality effects of incumbency and which has increased since the 1960s

relationships between campaign spending and likelihood of victory for incumbents and challengers

why campaign spending is more important for nonincumbent candidates

expansionist v. protectionist stages of congressional careers

most effective electoral strategy for incumbents

how and why money and organization are critical resources in campaigns

sources of campaign contributions to House and Senate incumbents

impact of self-financing on challengers' chances of victory

"dual strategy" of business PACs

"nonconnected" PACs and their contribution patterns

party spending in congressional races: direct contributions, coordinated ("on behalf of") spending

congressional party committees (NRCC, DCCC, NRSC, DSCC)

bundling

why uncertainty permeates discussion of campaign strategies

activities common to "full-scale" campaigns

patterns in incumbents' strategies for reelection

challengers' campaigns

home style

preemptive strategy

patterns in campaigns for open seats

comparison of Senate and House campaigns

"issue advocacy" campaigns

independent spending

consequences of rapid change in congressional campaign practices

turnout in congressional elections: over time (since 1932), in presidential v. non-presidential election years, explanations, impact on campaign strategy

impact of decline in voters' party loyalty on incumbents and challengers

psychological v. practical interpretations of party identification

recognition and recall of congressional candidates, differences in House and Senate incumbents and challengers, and effects on vote

volume and modes of voter contact with House and Senate incumbents and challengers, and effects on recognition/recall/evaluation of candidates

why campaign spending is more important for challengers

effects of party ID, incumbency status, candidate familiarity, and evaluation of candidates on whom a voter votes for

how voters evaluate House and Senate incumbents

changes in how congressional campaigns frame voters' decisions

impact of how campaigns frame voters' decisions on incumbents and challengers

why House incumbents are "doubly advantaged" when compared with Senate incumbents (p. 132)

characteristics of races where challengers win

primary explanation for the differences between House and Senate races

relationships between presidential approval levels, state of the national economy, and aggregate congressional election results

impact of a voter's personal financial situation and her/his vote in a congressional race

presidential coattail effects: aggregate v. individual-level evidence

Jacobson's "solution" to conflicting aggregate and individual-level findings about presidential coattails and about the link between vote and economic and

presidential performance

how Jacobson measures candidate "quality"

why Jacobson argues candidate quality has become a more important component of electoral success or failure

how Republicans successfully "nationalized" the 1994 congressional elections

why few House seats changed party control in 1984, 1986, and 1988

why turnover in the House was so high in 1992 and 1994

why Republicans won the House in 1994 and the longer term impact of the victory

why Democratic House candidates did not benefit from Clinton's 1996 reelection victory

why the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal had the impact it did on the 1998 congressional elections

patterns in House elections between 1980 and 1998

patterns in Senate elections between 1980 and 1998

how and why electoral politics affects the internal organization of the House and Senate

how and why electoral politics affects policy-making in Congress: particularism, responding to

organized groups, immobilism, symbolism

conditions under which legislation providing widely shared benefits but imposing concentrated costs can be passed

Tax Reform Act of 1986

Jacobson's conclusions about the evolution of the budget process

Congress's performance on specific dimensions of representation (e.g., policy congruence, descriptive representation, responsiveness to national economic and

political conditions, responsibility)

how and why party cohesion in Congress rose in the 1980s and 1990s

relationships between party polarization in Congress and partisan/ideological polarization in the electorate, and their implications

Jacobson's view of congressional term limits

explanations for the persistence of divided government in the 1990s

party polarization and the politics of impeachment

Jacobson's expectations about the 2000 presidential and congressional elections