The Roads to Congress 2010

by Sean D. Foreman, Robert Dewhirst, Sunil Ahuja (Contribution by), E Scott Adler (Contribution by), Jeffrey S. Ashley (Contribution by)

Overview

The Roads to Congress 2010 follows the path of seven House and six Senate races from inception to election postmortem. The book provides an array of case studies of important 2010 congressional races which collectively will give college undergraduate students a compelling narrative explanation of America's electoral process and the keys to winning vital elections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739169445
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/24/2011
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sean D. Foreman is assistant professor of political science at Barry University. Robert Dewhirst is professor of political science at Northwest Missouri State University.

Table of Contents

1 Preface Part 2 Part I: Introduction Chapter 3 1. A third "wave" election in a row: The House turns Republican while the Senate stays Democratic Part 4 Part II: House of Representatives Elections Chapter 5 2. Florida District 8 Race (Webster v. Grayson): No Magic Kingdom for the Incumbent Chapter 6 3. Illinois District 14 Race (Hultgren v. Foster): A National Referendum against the President and Incumbents Chapter 7 4. Illinois District 11 Race (Kinzinger v. Halvorson): A Fresh Incumbent does not survive the Tsunami Chapter 8 5. Mississippi District 4 Race (Taylor v. Palazzo): A Conservative Democrat Loses to a More Conservative Republican Chapter 9 6. New York District 20 Race (Gibson v. Murphy): The Red Tide Returns to the Upper Hudson Valley Chapter 10 7. Ohio District 6 Race (Johnson v. Wilson): Ripe for Independent Spenders Chapter 11 8. Virginia District 5 Race (Hurt v. Perriello): A Congressman Falls to a Republican Tsunami Part 12 Part III: U.S. Senate Elections Chapter 13 9. Alaska Senate Race (McAdams v. Miller v. Murkowski): Alaska's Three-Way Senate Race and Lisa Murkowski's Write-in Victory Chapter 14 10. California Senate Race (Fiorina v. Boxer): The Great Democratic Exception in a Republican Year Chapter 15 11. Colorado Senate Race (Bennet v. Buck): Incumbency Success in an Anti-Incumbency Year Chapter 16 12. Connecticut Senate Race (McMahon v. Blumenthal): Blumenthal Beats McMahon in a Race that Set State Records for Spending Chapter 17 13. Florida Senate Race (Crist v. Meek v. Rubio): The Rise of Rubio and fall of Crist Chapter 18 14. Missouri Senate Race (Blunt v. Carnahan): Still a National Bellwether State Part 19 Part IV: Conclusion Chapter 20 15. The Legacy of the 2010 Congressional Elections 21 Index 22 About the Contributors

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The American presidency spans more than two centuries, and 43 quite different men have occupied the office. It requires extraordinary breadth and depth of knowledge to deal meaningfully with such a vast subject. Philip Abbott, a distinguished scholar in several subjects, is well-equipped to do so as he demonstrates so clearly here.”—Max J. Skidmore, University of Missouri

"The editors have recruited a savvy group of authors who are highly knowledgeable of their congressional districts and states. They have produced a well written and important work that will serve the needs of students, political practitioners and the general public. If you want to know "what it takes" to run for Congress, read this book."—Anthony Joseph Eksterowicz, James Madison University

 "Sean Foreman and Robert Dewhirst’s team of insightful scholars have carefully explored thirteen key House and Senate races to explain how the Republicans’ 2010 midterm landslide changed the political landscape as well as why it did not produce even more change. Everyone interested in congressional elections, from Tea Partyers to Obama Democrats, should read this book."—James E. Campbell, University at Buffalo, SUNY 

"The Roads to Congress now are becoming well traveled. The second edition continues to give sound insights into congressional elections, with especially valuable microanalyses of key individual races."—Max J. Skidmore, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Editorial Reviews

With 435 House districts and 50 states, there are many "roads to Congress." This is the latest installment in a series that stretches back at least a decade. Essays in this volume focus on campaigns for House and Senate seats during the 2010 election cycle. Case studies focus on the districts or states, candidates, campaigns, and events that led to the electoral outcome in each case. Seven essays focus on House races and seven on Senate races, geographically dispersed across the US. The underlying assumption of the entire series is that local context matters and congressional campaigns matter, shaping how members of Congress arrive on Capitol Hill. Ironically, the 2010 electoral cycle was largely shaped by the national context: the Obama presidency, the state of the economy, and the Tea Party revolt. This volume is particularly valuable for teaching undergraduate courses that focus on campaigns and elections. The skillfully written case studies will engage students in the hurly-burly world of politics and the factors that shape elections. Practitioners may gain some insight from comparisons among different races, and political junkies will find the book to be a fascinating read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduate students and above. 

Choice Reviews

With 435 House districts and 50 states, there are many "roads to Congress." This is the latest installment in a series that stretches back at least a decade. Essays in this volume focus on campaigns for House and Senate seats during the 2010 election cycle. Case studies focus on the districts or states, candidates, campaigns, and events that led to the electoral outcome in each case. Seven essays focus on House races and seven on Senate races, geographically dispersed across the US. The underlying assumption of the entire series is that local context matters and congressional campaigns matter, shaping how members of Congress arrive on Capitol Hill. Ironically, the 2010 electoral cycle was largely shaped by the national context: the Obama presidency, the state of the economy, and the Tea Party revolt. This volume is particularly valuable for teaching undergraduate courses that focus on campaigns and elections. The skillfully written case studies will engage students in the hurly-burly world of politics and the factors that shape elections. Practitioners may gain some insight from comparisons among different races, and political junkies will find the book to be a fascinating read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduate students and above. 

Choice

With 435 House districts and 50 states, there are many "roads to Congress." This is the latest installment in a series that stretches back at least a decade. Essays in this volume focus on campaigns for House and Senate seats during the 2010 election cycle. Case studies focus on the districts or states, candidates, campaigns, and events that led to the electoral outcome in each case. Seven essays focus on House races and seven on Senate races, geographically dispersed across the US. The underlying assumption of the entire series is that local context matters and congressional campaigns matter, shaping how members of Congress arrive on Capitol Hill. Ironically, the 2010 electoral cycle was largely shaped by the national context: the Obama presidency, the state of the economy, and the Tea Party revolt. This volume is particularly valuable for teaching undergraduate courses that focus on campaigns and elections. The skillfully written case studies will engage students in the hurly-burly world of politics and the factors that shape elections. Practitioners may gain some insight from comparisons among different races, and political junkies will find the book to be a fascinating read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduate students and above. 

CHOICE