POS5277: Electoral Politics Spring 2011 Tuesday: 11:45am-2:15pm

Transcription

1 POS5277: Electoral Politics Spring 2011 Tuesday: 11:45am-2:15pm Professor John Barry Ryan Office: 558 Bellamy Building Phone: Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30pm-3:30pm or by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION This class is going to focus on Congressional elections. Every two years there are 435 House districts and 33 Senate seats up for election allowing for a great deal of variation. This variation in the elections should allow us to determine what factors matter in campaigns. Does the candidate s personality matter? Do voters know and care about the positions the candidates take? Do the candidates even take positions on the issues and does it make sense if they do? The goal is for you to get a lot of information on different aspects of congressional campaigns through seminar and you will become experts in a particular aspect through your research. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Every student in the class will be required to write reaction papers and a final paper. The nature of the final paper differs based on whether you are a Political Science Ph.D. student or a Master s student. Master s students who wish to complete the same paper as the Ph.D. students are able, but they must inform me by February 1. All students will complete 6 reaction papers throughout the course. We will assign the reaction papers on the first day. The reaction papers must be no longer than one page single spaced I will not read any text on a second page. In the reaction papers, you will briefly summarize the argument in the assigned article and then proceed to explain the strengths and weaknesses of the argument and the evidence presented in each paper. The final paper for Ph.D. students: Ph.D. students are required to write a standard political science research paper for this seminar. The nature of these papers will be worked out on an individual basis. Your goal for this type of effort should be a paper suitable for presentation at a professional conference and ultimately journal submission. You must have your paper topic approved by me by February 8. The final paper for Master s students: Master s students are required to write a paper explaining the outcome of a particular election. You may select any election you choose. It s not enough to explain what happened, you need to explain why it happened. You must have your paper topic approved by me by February 8.

2 ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING Reaction Papers (25%): The six one-page reaction papers as described above. Class Participation (15%): Participation among the students is vital for a seminar such as this one. As you cannot participate if you are not in class, you will have your grade reduced if you miss classes. Final Presentation (20%): You will have to present your final paper to the class. Your presentation will last 15 minutes. You will also be the discussant for one of the other papers. Your comments should take 5 minutes. Presentation dates will be assigned at random. Hopefully, no students will present and comment in the same week. Final Paper (40%): The final paper as discussed above. Final papers are due April 26. ACADEMIC HONOR CODE All students are responsible for maintaining the highest standards of honesty and integrity in every phase of their academic careers. The penalties for academic dishonesty are severe and ignorance is not an acceptable defense. All academic work must meet the standards contained in the Academic Honor Code, published in the Florida State University Bulletin and The Student Handbook. Please see the following web site for a complete explanation of the Academic Honor Code: STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the Student Disability Resource Center 97 Woodward Avenue, South Florida State University Tallahassee, FL (850) (voice) (850) (TDD)

3 BOOKS Burden, Barry C. and David C. Kimball Why Americans Split Their Tickets: Campaigns, Competition, and Divided Government. University of Michigan Press. Franz, Michael M, Paul B. Freedman, Kenneth M. Goldstein, and Travis N. Ridout Campaign Advertising and American Democracy. Temple University Press. Jacobson, Gary C The Politics of Congressional Elections, 7th edition. New York: Pearson/Longma. We re not reading this book, but you should have it. SCHEDULE January 4 Introduction Cover, Albert D. and Bruce S. Brumberg Baby Books and Ballots: The Impact of Congressional Mail on Constituency Opinion. American Political Science Review, 76(2): January 11 Candidate Entry Rohde, David W Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition: The Case of Members of the United States House of Representatives. American Journal of Political Science, 23(1): Mann, Thomas E. and Raymond Wolfinger Candidates and Parties in Congressional Elections. American Political Science Review, 74(3): Jacobson, Gary C Strategic Politicians and the Dynamics of U.S. House Elections, American Political Science Review, 83(3): Stone, Walter, L. Sandy Maisel, and Cherie D. Maestas Quality Counts: Extending the Strategic Politician Model of Incumbent Deterrence. American Journal of Political Science, 48(3): Maestas, Cherie D., Sarah Fulton, L. Sandy Maisel, and Walter J. Stone When to Risk It? Institutions, Ambitions, and the Decision to Run for the U.S. House. American Political Science Review, 100(2): January 18 The Incumbency Advantage I Erikson, Robert S The Advantage of Incumbency in Congressional Elections. Polity, 3(3): Banks, Jeffrey S. and Roderick D. Kiewiet Explaining Patterns of Candidate Competition in Congressional Elections. American Journal of Political Science, 33(4):

4 Petrocik, John R. and Scott W. Desposato Incumbency and Short-Term Influences on Voters. Political Research Quarterly, 57(3): Ashworth, Scott and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita Electoral Selection, Strategic Challenger Entry, and the Incumbency Advantage. The Journal of Politics, 70(4): Stone, Walter J., Sarah A. Fulton, Cherie D. Maestas, and Sarah Fulton Incumbency Reconsidered: Prospects, Strategic Retirement, and Incumbent Quality in U.S. House Elections. Journal of Politics, 72(1): January 25 The Incumbency Advantage II Mondak,Jeffery J Competence, Integrity, and the Electoral Success of Congressional Incumbents. The Journal of Politics, 57(4): Cox, Gary W. and Jonathan N. Katz "Why Did the Incumbency Advantage in U.S. House Elections Grow?" American Journal of Political Science, 40(2): Abramowitz, Alan I. Brad Alexander, and Matthew Gunning Incumbency, Redistricting, and the Decline of Competition in U.S. House Elections. The Journal of Politics, 68(1): Prior, Markus The Incumbent in the Living Room: The Rise of Television and the Incumbency Advantage in U.S. House Elections. The Journal of Politics, 68, (3): Friedman, John N. and Richard T. Holden "The Rising Incumbent Reelection Rate: What's Gerrymandering Got to Do With It?" The Journal of Politics, 71(2): February 1 Campaign Spending Jacobson, Gary C The Effects of Campaign Spending in Congressional Elections. American Political Science Review, 72(2): Krasno, Jonathan S. and Donald Philip Green Salvation for the Spendthrift Incumbent: Reestimating the Effects of Campaign Spending in House Elections. American Journal of Political Science, 32(4): Jacobson, Gary C The Effects of Campaign Spending in House Elections: New Evidence for Old Arguments. American Journal of Political Science, 34(2): Jacobson, Gary C Campaign Spending Effects in U.S. Senate Elections: Evidence from the National Annenberg Election Survey. Electoral Studies, 25:

5 Maestas, Cherie D. and Cynthia R. Rugeley Assessing the Experience Bonus through Examining Strategic Entry, Candidate Quality, and Campaign Receipts in U.S. House Elections. American Journal of Political Science, 52(3): Benoit, Kenneth and Michael Marsh The Campaign Value of Incumbency: A New Solution to the Puzzle of Less Effective Incumbent Spending. American Journal of Political Science, 52(4): February 8 Position Taking I Stokes, Donald Spatial Models of Party Competition. American Political Science Review, 57(2): Shepsle, Kenneth A The Strategy of Ambiguity: Uncertainty and Electoral Competition. American Political Science Review, 66(2): Page, Benjamin Theory of Political Ambiguity. American Political Science Review, 70 (3): Ansolabehere, Stephen, James Snyder, and Charles Stewart Candidate Positioning in U.S. House Elections American Journal of Political Science, 45(1): Burden, Barry C Candidate Positioning in US Congressional Elections. British Journal of Political Science, 34(2): February 15 Position Taking II Erikson, Robert S The Electoral Impact of Congressional Roll Call Voting. American Political Science Review, 65(4): Groseclose, Tim A Model of Candidate Location When One Candidate Has a Valence Advantage. American Journal of Political Science, 45(4): Canes-Wrone, Brandice, David W. Brady, and John F. Cogan Out of Step, out of Office: Electoral Accountability and House Members' Voting American Political Science Review, 96(1): Stone, Walter J. and Elizabeth N. Simas Candidate Valence and Ideological Positions in U.S. House Elections. American Journal of Political Science, 54(2): Carson, Jamie L., Gregory Koger, Matthew J. Lebo, and Everett Young The Electoral Costs of Party Loyalty in Congress. American Journal of Political Science, 54(3):

6 February 22 Advertising I Franz, Michael M, Paul B. Freedman, Kenneth M. Goldstein, and Travis N. Ridout Campaign Advertising and American Democracy. Temple University Press. March 1 Advertising II Stephen Ansolabehere, Stephen, Shanto Iyengar, Adam Simon, and Nicholas Valentino Does Attack Advertising Demobilize the Electorate? American Political Science Review, 88(4): Lau, Richard R. and Gerald M. Pomper Effectiveness of Negative Campaigning in U.S. Senate Elections. American Journal of Political Science, 46(1): Druckman, James N., Martin J. Kifer, and Michael Parkin Campaign Communication in US Congressional Elections. American Political Science Review, 103(3): Geer, John G. and Deborah Jordan Beyond Negativity: The Effects of Incivility on the Electorate. American Journal of Political Science, 51(1): 1-16 March 8 Spring Break March 15 Winning and Losing Abramowitz, Alan I Explaining Senate Election Outcomes. American Political Science Review, 82: Zaller, John Politicians as Prize Fighters: Electoral Selection and Incumbency Advantage. In Politicians and Party Politics, ed. John G. Geer. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Kahn, Kim and Patrick Kenney The Spectacle of US Senate Elections. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Pres. Chapter 9 How Voters Make Decision in US Senate Campaigns. Erikson, Robert S. and Gerald C. Wright Voters, Candidates and Issues in Congressional Elections. In Congress Reconsidered 7 th edition, Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer eds. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Highton, Benjamin Job Approval and Senate Election Outcomes in the United States. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 33 (May): March 22 Turnout Alan S. Gerber and Donald P. Green The Effects of Canvassing, Telephone Calls, and Direct Mail on Voter Turnout: A Field Experiment. American Political Science Review, 94:

7 Nickerson, David W Is Voting Contagious? Evidence from Two Field Experiments, American Political Science Review, 102: Fowler, James H., Laura A. Baker, and Christopher T. Dawes Genetic Variation in Political Participation. American Political Science Review, 102: Kam, Cindy D. and Carl Palmer Reconsidering the Effects of Education on Political Participation. The Journal of Politics, 70(3): Hansford, Thomas G. and Brad T. Gomez Estimating the Electoral Effects of Voter Turnout. American Political Science Review, 104(2): March 29 Voters and Partisanship Gerber, Alan and Donald Green Misperceptions about Perceptual Bias. Annual Review of Political Science, 2: Bartels, Larry M Partisanship and Voting Behavior, American Journal of Political Science, 44(1): Bartels, Larry M Beyond the Running Tally: Partisan Bias in Political Perceptions. Political Behavior, 24(2): Bafumi, Joseph and Robert Y. Shapiro "A New Partisan Voter." The Journal of Politics, 71(1):1-24. Claassen, Ryan, and Andrew Povtak The Christian Right Thesis: Explaining Longitudinal Change in Participation among Evangelical Christians. Journal of Politics, 72: April 5-And the Presidential Vote Burden, Barry C. and David C. Kimball Why Americans Split Their Tickets: Campaigns, Competition, and Divided Government. University of Michigan Press. Karp, Jeffery A. and Marshall W. Garland "Ideological Ambiguity and Split Ticket Voting." Political Research Quarterly, 60(4): April 12 and 19 Presentations Final papers due April 26