Primary source materials are a great way for students to experience firsthand a historic event, to more fully understand a pivotal actor or figure, or to explore legislation or a judicial decision. Students leave these readings better prepared to grapple with secondary sources. In fact, they can often support a different interpretation or more critically engage with analysis. This new volume—with 50 documents that include speeches, court cases, letters, diary entries, excerpts from autobiographies, treaties, legislation, regulations and reports, documentary photographs, ad stills, public opinion polls, transcripts, and press releases—is a great starting point for any parties and elections course. Careful editing, pithy headnotes, and discussion questions all enhance this useful reader.

Presents a complete reference guide to American political parties and elections, including an A-Z listing of presidential elections with terms, people and events involved in the process.

Following one of the most contentious and surprising elections in US history, the new edition of this classic text demonstrates unequivocally: Campaigns matter. With new and revised chapters throughout, Campaigns and Elections American Style provides a real education in contemporary campaign politics. In the fifth edition, academics and campaign professionals explain how Trump won the presidency, comparing his sometimes novel tactics with tried and true strategies including how campaign themes and strategies are developed and communicated, the changes in campaign tactics as a result of changing technology, new techniques to target and mobilize voters, the evolving landscape of campaign finance and election laws, and the increasing diversity of the role of media in elections. Offering a unique and careful mix of Democrat and Republican, academic and practitioner, and male and female campaign perspectives, this volume scrutinizes national and local-level campaigns with a special focus on the 2016 presidential and congressional elections and what those elections might tell us about 2018 and 2020. Students, citizens, candidates, and campaign managers will learn not only how to win elections but also why it is 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. Highlights of the Fifth Edition Covers the 2016 elections with an eye to 2018 and 2020. Explains how Trump won the presidency, the changes in campaign tactics as a result of changing technology, new techniques to target and mobilize voters, the evolving landscape of campaign finance and election laws, and the increasing diversity of the role of media. Includes a new part structure and the addition of part introductions to help students contextualize the major issues and trends in campaigns and elections.

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Political Campaigns is intended for use in courses dealing with political parties, campaigns and elections, or interest groups. In one integrated text, this book covers the history and contemporary organization of political parties, the nature of the electoral system and modern American election campaigns, and the activities of interest groups. The central theme of this book is that the actions of political parties and interest groups are no longer played out in separate spheres of the political world, but are increasingly bound together. Nowhere is the overlap of interest group and party activity more apparent than in the modern political campaign.The book is organized around the idea that modern political campaigns link political parties and interest groups. Both political parties and interest groups have been forced to adapt to the changing circumstances of American politics in the contemporary era. Election campaigns have become more candidate-centered, increasingly driven by polls and media coverage, and fueled by staggering amounts of money. Political parties have adapted to these circumstances by becoming more proficient at providing the services that candidates require in modern campaigns, while interest groups have adapted by applying the style and techniques of election campaigns to their own political issue campaigns run by hired assistants from the worlds of public relations, polling, and campaign management.Part One explains the history and development of political parties in the United States, the contemporary organization of the major parties, and the electoral environment in which the parties compete. Part Two ties political parties to modern campaigns, with special emphasis on recent presidential and congressional elections, and examines the problems of campaign finance. Part Three links interest groups to political parties through the bridge of political campaigns. Interest groups are examined as they participate in candidate-centered campaigns, issue campaigns, and interest group lobbying campaigns.

Combining the rich content of the print edition with the advanced online functionality demanded by today's researchers, Elections A to Z: Online Edition is the ultimate 21st century research tool for finding current, accurate information on U.S. elections. Advanced Web-enabled features allow users to conduct searches from A to Z on election. Like all CQ Press online editions, Elections A to Z: Online Edition comes loaded with powerful user-friendly functions such as CiteNow!, which lets researchers download full citations in MLA, APA, Bluebook, and other formats. Elections A to Z explains how campaigns and elections, the hallmark of any democracy, are conducted in the United States. The new third edition has been redesigned and updated with new entries covering the vital current elections topics that readers want to know about. Entries range from short definitions of terms like front-runner to in-depth essays exploring vital aspects of campaigns and elections, such as the right to vote, turnout trends, and the history, evolution, and current state of House, Senate, presidential, and some state-level elections. Readers will find essential information on: Stages in the campaign process and the general election The roles of political consultants, the media, and political parties Debates and issues such as term limits, majority-minority districts, and campaign finance Amendments, legislation, and court cases that have shaped electoral, campaign, and voting matters Voter turnout and voting rights in the United States Important terms and concepts like absolute majority and dark horse Highlights of presidential elections throughout U.S. history

Primary source materials are a great way for students to experience firsthand a historic event, to more fully understand a pivotal actor or figure, or to explore legislation or a judicial decision. Students leave these readings better prepared to grapple with secondary sources. In fact, they can often support a different interpretation or more critically engage with analysis. This new volume - with 50 documents that include speeches, court cases, letters, diary entries, excerpts from autobiographies, treaties, legislation, regulations and reports, documentary photographs, ad stills, public opinion polls, transcripts, and press releases - is a great starting point for any parties and elections course. Careful editing, pithy headnotes, and discussion questions all enhance this useful reader.

"Overall, a first-rate resource, and yes, pleasantly readable." —School Library Journal The Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior covers virtually everything one would want to know about American political campaigns. With more than 450 entries, these two comprehensive volumes present a significant array topics of campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior. The encyclopedia′s diverse content shows that although the subject matter of campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior is inherently related, each topic has a distinct focus. Key Features Presents topics in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner, intentionally avoiding unnecessary technical language Includes entries written by electoral behavior scholars from around the country Focuses on American campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior but also provides a culturally and politically diverse perspective of American democratic practices and institutions Offers a rich campaign history by looking at many colorful candidates, corrupt yet intriguing political machines, rapidly changing technologies, campaign organizations, and strategies Provides a description and scholarly analysis for all presidential elections, including state and general elections Presents and simplifies complicated election laws that govern federal, state, and local elections Examines various efforts throughout the decades to reform elections, especially from social upheaval and the resulting political realignments Includes extensive electoral research into the development of political opinions, attitudes, and ideologies in American voters Key Themes Ballot Issue Campaigns Campaigns, Elections and the Law Corruption in American Campaigns and Elections Electoral Behavior of Various Groups Local Campaigns and Elections Media′s Role in American Campaigns and Elections People Political Parties, Interest Groups, and American Campaigns and Elections Political Theory and Democratic Elections in America Polls, Public Opinion, and Campaigns and Elections Presidential Campaigns and Elections Reforming American Campaigns and Elections Running Political Campaigns: Management, Organization, and Strategies Social and Psychological Dynamics of Electoral Behavior State and Congressional Campaigns and Elections: History and State Profiles The Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior is an especially useful reference, published to coincide with the 2008 presidential election. This informative yet intriguing resource is a welcome addition to any academic or public library.

This classic text provides an in-depth examination and history of American political parties and their critical role in representative democracy at the local, state, and national levels.

For the first time, leading political scientists and experienced campaign professionals (many instrumental in the 1992 and 1994 elections) have come together to consider the nuts-and-bolts of American campaigns and elections in conjunction with academic theories and research. Sometimes the two views correspond quite closely—as when academic Paul Herrnson's research on volunteerism reinforces grassroots campaign specialist Will Robinson's experience with field operations at the local level. Other times, theory flies in the face of practice, as William Hamilton (campaign pollster) and Raymond Wolfinger (survey research specialist) reveal in essays on the use of campaign surveys. Sam Popkin embodies the essence of the book; he is a key academic who also played an important role in advising the Clinton campaign.The essays in this volume provide 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 1992 phenomena of town meetings, bus tours, MTV, talk radio, infomercials, and focus groups. Especially relevant to the 1994 midterm elections, we see 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 1994 with the 1996 elections in mind. 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, Campaigns and Elections American Style is borne out of the marriage of campaign professionals and academics teaching in American University's nationally televised Campaign Management Institute. This book is essential reading for political junkies of any stripe and serious students of campaigns and elections. All will be impressed by the clear portrait this volume paints of the professionalization and dramatic transformation of American election campaigns over the last 30 years.

Elections A to Z is a highly respected legacy title that has long been a staple in the CQ Press reference list. It provides readers with ready reference insight into how campaigns and elections, the hallmark of any democracy, are conducted in the United States. The new fifth edition has been redesigned and updated with new entries covering the vital current elections topics that readers want to know about, especially given the focus on elections over the past year, and the resulting threat to American democracy. Entries range from short definitions of terms such as "at-large" and "front-runner" to in-depth essays exploring vital aspects of campaigns and elections, such as the right to vote, turnout trends, and the history, evolution, and current state of House, Senate, presidential, and some state-level elections. As with the prior edition, coverage will continue to entail the stages in the campaign process and the general election; the roles of political consultants, the media, and political parties; debates around term limits, majority-minority districts, and campaign finance; amendments, legislation, and court cases that have shaped electoral, campaign, and voting matters; voter turnout and voting rights in the United States; and highlights of presidential elections throughout U.S. history. Since the last edition published in 2012, there are many pertinent topics and events to explore from recent years, especially surrounding the 2020 elections. New to this edition will be entries discussing social media and communication, political and racial gerrymandering, districting and disenfranchisement, absentee and mail-in voting, new and revised state-by-state election and voter laws, foreign interference and misinformation campaigns, election-related violence, and minority and diverse group candidates and voter participation. Additionally, the book will address recent SCOTUS decisions that have impacted election law, including Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (2013), Shelby County, Alabama, v. Holder, Attorney General (2013), McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014), Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (2015), Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (2016), Husted, Ohio Secretary of State v. A. Philip Randolph Institute (2018), Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky (2018), Gill v. Whitford (2018), Abbott, Governor of Texas v. Perez (2018), Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill (2019), Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), Colorado Department of State v. Baca (2020), Chiafalo v. Washington (2020), and Texas v. Pennsylvania (2020). The proposed update to Elections A to Z will reflect these changes as it captures an undergraduate-level audience that understands the basics of campaigns and elections but is seeking an understanding of related topics, trends, and current events.