Parties and Elections in America is an established and well-respected text covering all aspects of the electoral process from historical roots through election year 2000. The Post-Election Update includes the 2000 election results, with 44 key data tables and figures updated and new chapter opening photos throughout. Chapter updates reflecting the events from the 2000 election include the presidential nomination process, the endless election, the role of Ralph Nader and the Greens, and media blunders on election night. The concluding chapter is updated to look ahead toward election reform measures certain to be proposed in the aftermath of Election 2000. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

L. Sandy Maisel is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor and chair of the department of political science at Colby College. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

List of Tables and Figures	xvii
Preface to Post-Election Update	xxi
Acknowledgments	xxix
Credits	xxxii
1. Elections and Political Parties	1
I. An Examination of Elections in the United States	4
II. The Role of Elections in Democratic Theory	10
A. Modes of Elections	10
1. Direct Elections	10
2. Indirect Elections	11
B. Implications for Representation	11
1. Representatives' Perspectives	11
2. The Public's Perspective and the Role of Parties in Representation	11
III. Definitions of "Political Party" and "Party Systems"	13
IV. Politicians View the Party System	22
Websites	27
Key Concepts	27
Discussion Questions	27
2. The Development of American Political Parties	29
I. From Faction to Party	31
II. The First American Parties	33
A. Funding and Assumption	33
B. Continuing New Divisions	34
C. Organizing to Gain Supporters	35
D. The Elections of 1796 and 1800	36
E. Contributions of the First Party System	37
F. The Collapse of the First Party System	38
III. The Second Party System	39
A. The Election of 1824 and Its Aftermath	39
B. Electoral Phases in the Second Party Period	40
C. Innovations of the Second Party Period	41
IV. The Collapse of the Second Party System	42
V. Third Party System: Industrialization over Politics	46
VI. The Critical Election of 1896 and Republican Domination	48
A. The Critical Election of 1896	48
B. The Classification of Presidential Elections	49
C. The Progressive Era: A Systemic Change	51
VII. The New Deal Coalition	52
A. Defining the New Deal Coalition	53
B. Changing Campaign Technology	54
C. The Shape of the Party System at the Century's End	56
VIII. Politicians View Political History	60
Websites	62
Key Concepts	63
Discussion Questions	63
3. Party Organization	65
I. The Organizational Framework	66
II. Local and County Organizations	68
III. State Party Organizations	72
A. The Age of Strong State Party Organizations	72
B. The Structure of State Committees	74
C. The Role of the State Party Chair	75
D. The Ascendancy of the State Party Headquarters	77
IV. Party Organization at the National Level	80
A. The Structure of National Party Organizations	80
1. The National Committees	80
2. The "Hill Committees"	83
B. The Enhanced Role of the National Party Organizations	83
V. Politicians View Party Organization	87
Websites	89
Key Concepts	89
Discussion Questions	89
4. Political Participation	91
I. Who Votes; Who Doesn't	93
A. Expansion of the Franchise	93
1. Property Requirements	94
2. Black Suffrage	94
3. Women's Suffrage	96
4. Lowering the Voting Age	99
5. Additional Regulations: Residency and Registration	100
B. Decline in Voter Participation	102
1. Voting by Blacks	105
2. Voting by Young Voters	106
3. Voting by Women	107
4. What Distinguishes Voters from Nonvoters?	108
C. Voters and Nonvoters Revisited	113
II. Participation in Politics in America	115
III. Politicians View Political Participants	119
Websites	122
Key Concepts	122
Discussion Questions	122
5. Theories of Voting Behavior	125
I. Voters in Presidential Elections	126
A. Models of Voting Behavior: The American Voter	126
B. Critics of The American Voter Model	129
1. Criticism by V. O. Key Jr. and His Followers	130
2. Criticism from Successors in the Michigan School	134
C. Presidential Voting Reviewed	139
II. Voters in Congressional and Senatorial Elections	140
III. Voting Behavior Theory Revisited	146
IV. Politicians View Political Behavior Theory	150
Websites	153
Key Concepts	154
Discussion Questions	154
6. Organized Groups in the Political Process	157
I. Organized Groups in American Politics	160
A. Political and Nonpolitical Associations	160
B. Politically Active Groups	162
1. Economic or Noneconomic Interests	162
2. Multipurpose or Single-Purpose Groups	164
3. Federal or National Groups	165
II. Electoral Activities of Organized Groups	166
A. Working within the Party	167
B. Group Ratings	169
C. Political Action Committees	172
III. Interest Groups' Influence on Their Members	178
IV. Politicians View Interest Groups	181
Websites	184
Key Concepts	184
Discussion Questions	184
7. State and Local Nominations	187
I. Political Context and Politicians' Decisions to Run	189
II. Common Views of the Nominating Process	191
III. Development of the Direct Primary System	192
A. Primaries as a Response to One-Party Domination	193
B. Primaries as an Item on the Progressive Agenda	193
IV. Varieties of Primaries	194
A. Who May Run	195
1. Party Membership and Petition Requirements	195
2. The Role of Parties	196
3. Louisiana: An Exception	198
4. Cross-Filing: Another Exception to Party Allegiance	198
B. Who May Vote	199
1. Closed, Open, and Blanket Primaries	199
2. Theoretical Arguments Regarding Primary Voter Eligibility	201
3. Pragmatic Considerations Regarding Primary Voter Eligibility	202
4. Strategic Consequences of Different Primary Rules	202
5. Crossover Voting	203
C. Who Wins	204
1. Plurality Rule	204
2. Variations from Plurality Rule: Runoff Primaries	205
V. The Politics of Nominations	210
A. Uncontested Nominations	210
B. Contested Nominations	211
1. Incumbent Advantage	211
2. Contests without Incumbents	212
VI. Politicians View the Nominating Process	214
Websites	216
Key Concepts	216
Discussion Questions	217
8. State and Local Elections	219
I. The Conventional Wisdom: Old versus New Politics	221
II. The New Politics: Campaigning in a Media Age	222
A. The Role of Political Parties	224
B. The Role of Organized Groups	227
C. Media Politics	228
D. The Candidate's Organization	231
E. The Structure of a Modern Campaign	233
1. Public Opinion Polling	234
2. Media Consultants	235
3. Fund-Raisers	236
4. Scheduling and Advance Work	237
5. Press Relations	238
6. Liaison to Party Organization and Organized Groups	239
7. Field Organizations	240
III. Old-Style Politics: A More Prominent Role for Parties	241
A. Reexamination of the Role of Political Parties	243
B. Local Campaigns in the Absence of Party	244
IV. Do Campaigns Determine Who Win Elections?	244
A. Lack of Competition in American Elections	245
B. Incumbent Advantage in U.S. House and State Legislative Races	245
C. Competition in U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial Races	247
D. Credible Competition in American Elections	248
V. Third Parties in State and Local Elections	252
VI. Politicians View the General Election	256
Websites	262
Key Concepts	262
Discussion Questions	262
9. Presidential Nominations	265
I. The Post-1968 Reforms	266
A. The McGovern-Fraser Commission	267
B. The 1972 Nomination	269
C. Continuing Reform of the Process	271
1. The Mikulski Commission	271
2. The 1976 Nomination: Strategies under the New Rules	271
3. The Winograd Commission	272
4. The 1980 Nomination and the Hunt Commission	274
5. The Fairness Commission and the 1988 Nominating Process	276
D. The Reform Movement: An Assessment	278
II. Nominations under the Current System: 1992 and 1996	280
A. The 1992 Nominations	280
B. The 1996 Nominations	282
C. The 2000 Nominations	284
III. Strategic Considerations in the Contests for Nominations	287
A. The Political Calendar	287
1. Front-loading the System	288
2. Super Tuesday	289
3. Filing Deadlines	289
4. Strategic Implications of the Political Calendar	290
B. The Rules of the Game	290
1. Proportional Representation versus Winner-Take-All Systems	291
2. Superdelegates versus Influential Party Leaders	292
C. Strategic Use of Campaign Resources	293
1. Office	294
2. Money	298
3. The Media	301
D. Evaluating Nominating Campaigns	307
IV. The Conventions	308
A. Credentials Challenges	309
B. Rules Disputes	310
C. Party Platforms	312
D. Vice Presidential Nominations	314
E. An Evaluation of the Conventions	317
V. Politicians View the Nominating Process	318
Websites	319
Key Concepts	320
Discussion Questions	320
10. Presidential Elections	323
I. From the Convention to the General Election	324
II. Organizing for the General Election	326
A. Structuring the Campaign Organization	326
1. The Campaign Headquarters	326
2. The National Committee	327
3. The Mobile Headquarters	330
4. Division and Integration of Authority and Responsibility	330
B. Functions of a Presidential Campaign Organization	332
1. Grassroots Politics	332
2. Staffing the Candidate's Plane	334
3. Staffing the Campaign Headquarters	335
C. Directing the Campaign Organization	340
1. The Inner Core	340
2. Expanding the Core	343
3. Co-opting the Losers	344
D. Setting a Campaign Strategy	346
III. Strategies for the General Election	346
A. Geographic Determinations	347
B. Coalition Strategies	351
C. Issue Strategies	353
1. Campaign Themes	353
2. Character as a Campaign Issue	355
3. The Issues Raised during a Campaign	357
D. The Strategic Use of Incumbency	358
IV. Tactics for the General Election	361
A. Tactical Considerations of Where to Go	361
B. Tactical Considerations of Media Use	362
C. Tactical Considerations of Which Issues to Discuss	363
D. The Tactics of Presidential Debates	364
V. Third-Party Candidates in Presidential Elections	367
VI. Politicians View the Campaigns	373
Websites	376
Key Concepts	376
Discussion Questions	377
11. Campaign Finance	379
I. The Climate for Reform	383
II. Campaign Finance Reforms of the 1970s	384
A. Historical Background	384
B. Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971	385
C. The 1974 Amendments to the FECA	386
D. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976)	386
E. The 1976 FECA Amendments	387
F. Current Status of Key Issues	388
III. The Costs of Democracy	389
A. Federal Elections	389
B. State and Local Elections	393
IV. Sources of Campaign Funds	394
A. Sources of Campaign Contributions	394
B. Individual Contributions	400
C. Political Action Committees	404
1. The Influence of PACs on Electoral Outcomes	406
2. The Influence of PACs on Legislative Outcomes	408
3. The Ideological Imbalance of Present and Future PACs	409
4. The Lack of Accountability for PAC Decision Making	410
5. PAC Influence: A Summary	412
D. Political Parties	413
E. Soft Money: The Newest Loophole to Be Closed	414
F. The Debate over Public Financing	415
V. Politicians View Campaign Financing	418
Websites	421
Key Concepts	421
Discussion Questions	422
12. The Media and the Electoral Process	423
I. The Media in the Contemporary Context	424
II. Free Media: Journalists' Presentations of Candidates and Campaigns	426
A. The Varieties of Free Media	426
B. The Role of the Free Media	429
1. Informed Consent of the Governed	429
2. Window on the Candidates	430
3. Referee between Candidates	431
C. The Actual Role That the Media Play	431
1. The Great Mentioner	432
2. Image Creator	432
3. Expectation Setter	433
4. Issue Identifier	434
5. Field Narrower	434
6. Campaign Critic	435
7. Documentor of Elections	435
8. Purveyor of Results	437
D. An Assessment of the Role of Free Media	438
1. Why Do the Media Play the Roles They Do?	438
2. How Should We Evaluate That Role?	439
III. Paid Media: The Candidate Provides the Message	440
A. Types of Paid Media	440
B. Controversies Caused by the Use of Paid Media	442
1. Negative Advertising	443
2. Issue Advocacy Advertisements	445
C. Impact of Paid Media on Election Campaigns	446
1. Intended Consequences of Paid Media Campaigns	446
2. Unintended Consequences of Paid Media Campaigns	447
IV. Politicians View the Media	448
Websites	449
Key Concepts	449
Discussion Questions	450
13. The Party in Government	451
I. The Concept of Party in Government	453
II. Party as the Organizing Element of the U.S. Congress	456
A. Organization of the House of Representatives	457
1. Republican Organization under Gingrich	457
2. The Democrats in the Minority	465
B. Party Leadership in the Senate	470
1. The Senate Republicans	471
2. The Senate Democrats	472
3. The Muted Role of Party Leaders	475
III. The Impact of Party on Congressional Behavior	476
IV. The President as a Leader of Party in Government	480
A. The President as Leader of His Party in Congress	480
1. The Presidential Role in Setting the Parties' Agendas	480
2. Presidential Means of Working with Congress	482
3. The President as Party Leader in Congress: A Summary	483
B. The Role of Party in the President's Administration	484
V. Politicians View the Party in Government	485
Websites	486
Key Concepts	487
Discussion Questions	487
14. Conclusions: The Role of Political Parties at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century	489
I. The Role of Elections	490
A. The Context of Federalism	490
1. Presidential Elections	491
2. Congressional Elections	492
3. State and Local Elections	494
4. Nonpartisan Politics	494
B. Voters and Elections	495
1. Television as a Source of Political Information	496
2. Television as a Source for Information about State and Local Issues	497
C. An Evaluation of the Electoral Process as a Means of Choosing Those Who Govern	498
II. The Role of Political Parties	499
A. The Parties in the Modern Election	499
B. Parties' Appeal to the Electorate	501
C. The Tone of Twenty-First-Century Politics	504
III. Concluding Remarks	505
Notes	507
References	527
Index	571
About the Author	591

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