Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xm8r8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-16T15:26:59.208Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Campaign Professionalism in State Legislative Elections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Owen G. Abbe  and
Paul S. Herrnson
Owen G. Abbe
Affiliation:
University of Maryland
Paul S. Herrnson
Affiliation:
University of Maryland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We know that state legislative election campaigns have become increasingly expensive in recent years, but have they also become more professionally run? We assess the degree to which campaign professionals have proliferated in state legislative election campaigns and explain this development in terms of the institutional changes in state legislatures and the “congressionalization” of state legislative elections. Nearly one-half of all state legislative candidates answering our survey had hired professionals for their campaigns, using them mostly for direct mail, media advertising, campaign management, and polling. Open-seat candidates waged more professional campaigns than incumbents or their challengers. We find that campaign professionalism in state legislative elections is primarily a function of campaign spending, but that challengers hire professionals at lower spending levels. We also find that employing professionals improves the electoral performance of challengers, but not that of incumbents or open-seat candidates.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , September 2003 , pp. 223 - 245
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association, 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbe, Owen G., Herrnson, Paul S., Magleby, David B., and Patterson, Kelly D.. 2001. “Are Professional Campaigns More Negative?” In Playing Hardball: Campaigning for the U.S. Congress, ed. Herrnson, Paul S.. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Adamany, David. 1972. Campaign Funds as an Intraparty Political Resource, Connecticut, 1966-1968. Princeton, NJ: Citizens' Research Foundation.Google Scholar
Agranoff, Robert. 1972. “The New Style of Campaigning: The Decline of Party and the Rise of Candidate Centered Technology.” In The New Style in Election Campaigns, ed. Agranoff, Robert. Boston, MA: Holbrook Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Baldauf, Arthur, Reisinger, Herbert, and Moncrief, William C.. 1999. “Examining Motivations to Refuse in Industrial Mail Surveys.” Journal of Market Research Society 41:345–353.Google Scholar
Berkman, Michael. 1994. “State Legislators in Congress: Strategic Politicians, Professional Legislatures, and the Party Nexus.” American Journal of Political Science 38:1025–1055.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkman, Michael, and Eisenstein, James. 1999. “State Legislators as Congressional Candidates: The Effects of Prior Experience on Legislative Recruitment and Fundraising.” Political Research Quarterly 52:481–498.Google Scholar
Bernstein, Jonathan. 2000. “The New New Presidential Elite.” In In Pursuit of the White House 2000: How We Choose Our Presidential Nominees, ed. Mayer, William G.. New York: Chatham House.Google Scholar
Bianco, William T. 1984. “Strategic Decisions on Candidacy in U.S. Congressional Districts.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 9:351–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, Shaun, Donovan, Todd, and Fernandez, K.. 1996. “The Growth of the Political Marketing Industry and the California Initiative Process.” European Journal of Marketing 30:173–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowman, Ann, and Kearney, Richard C.. 1986. The Resurgence of the States. Englewoods Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Breaux, David A. and Gierzynski, Anthony. 1998. “Candidate Revenues and Expenditures in State Legislative Primaries.” In Campaign Finance in State Legislative Elections, eds. Thompson, Joel A. and Moncrief, Gary F.. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.Google Scholar
Caldeira, Gregory A., and Patterson, Samuel C.. 1982. “Bringing Home the Votes: Electoral Outcomes in State Legislative Races.” Political Behavior 4:33–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canon, David T. 1990. Actors, Athletes, and Astronauts: Political Amateurs in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Dexter, Lewis A. 1964. “The Good Will of Important People: More on the Jeopardy of the Interview.” Public Opinion Quarterly 28:556–563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eismeier, Theodore J., and Pollock, Philip H. III. 1986. “Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections: The Role of Political Action Committees.” American Journal of Political Science 30:197–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francis, Wayne L., and Kenny, Lawrence W.. 2000. Up the Political Ladder: Career Paths in U.S. Politics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Friedenberg, Robert. 1997. Communication Consultants in Political Campaigns. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Gierzynski, Anthony, and Breaux, David A.. 1991. “Money and Votes in State Legislative Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 16:203–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gierzynski, Anthony, and Breaux, David A.. 1993. “Money and the Party Vote in State House Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 18:515–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, Edie N., and Traugott, Michael W.. 1984. Campaigning for Congress. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Groves, Robert M., Cialdini, Robert B., and Couper, Mick P.. 1992. “Understanding the Decision to Participate in a Survey.” Public Opinion Quarterly 56:475–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Richard, and Wayman, Frank. 1990. “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees.” American Political Science Review 84:797–820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrnson, Paul S. 1988. Party Campaigning in the 1980s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrnson, Paul S. 1992. “Campaign Professionalism and Fund-raising in Congressional Elections.” Journal of Politics 54:859–870.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrnson, Paul S. 1995. Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Herrnson, Paul S. 2000a. “Campaign Assessment and Candidate Outreach Project.” College Park, MD: The Center for American Politics and Citizenship, University of Maryland.Google Scholar
Herrnson, Paul S. 2000b. Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Hershey, Marjorie Randon. 1984. Running for Office: The Political Education of Campaigners. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House.Google Scholar
Hogan, Robert E. 1997. “Voter Contact Techniques in State Legislative Campaigns: The Prevalence of Mass Media Advertising.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 22:551–571.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogan, Robert E. 2002. “Candidate Perceptions of Political Party Campaign Activity in State Legislative Elections.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 2:66–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1980. Money in Congressional Elections. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1989. “Strategic Politicians and the Dynamics of House Elections, 1946-1986.” American Political Science Review 83:773–793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1990. “The Effects of Campaign Spending in House Elections: New Evidence for Old Arguments.” American Journal of Political Science 34:334–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1997. The Politics of Congressional Elections. 4th ed. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C., and Kernell, Samuel. 1981. Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Jewell, Malcolm E., and Breaux, David. 1988. “The Effect of Incumbency on State Legislative Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 13:495–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Dennis W. 2000. “The Business of Political Consulting.” In Campaign Warriors: Political Consultants in Elections, eds. Thurber, James A. and Nelson, Candice J.. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, Dennis W. 2001. No Place for Amateurs. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary. 1988. “Statistical Models for Political Science Events Counts: Bias in Conventional Procedures and Evidence for the Exponential Poisson Regression.” American Journal of Political Science 32:828–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambert, Diane. 1992. “Zero-inflated Poisson Regression with an Application to Defects in Manufacturing.” Technometrics 34:1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langbein, Laura. 1986. “Money and Access: Some Empirical Evidence.” Journal of Politics 48:1052–1062.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lilley, William III, DeFranco, Laurence J., and Bernstein, Mark F.. 1998. The Almanac of State Legislatures: Changing Patterns 1990-1997. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.Google Scholar
Long, J. Scott. 1997. Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables. Thousand Oaks, CA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Long, J. Scott, and Freese, Jeremy. 2001. Regression Models for Categorical Dependent Variables Using STATA. College Station, TX: Stata Press.Google Scholar
Lynch, G. Patrick, and Rozell, Mark J.. 2002. “The ‘Congressionalization’ of State Legislative Races.” Social Science Journal 39:43–51.Google Scholar
Mayhew, David R. 1974. “Congressional Elections: The Case of the Vanishing Marginals.” Polity 6:295–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Medvic, Stephen K. 2001. Political Consultants in U.S. Congressional Elections. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Medvic, Stephen K., and Lenart, Silvo. 1997. “The Influence of Political Consultants in the 1992 Congressional Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 22:61–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moncrief, Gary F. 1992. “The Increase in Campaign Expenditures in State Legislative Elections.” Western Political Quarterly 45:549–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moncrief, Gary F. 1998. “Candidate Spending in State Legislative Races.” In Campaign Finance in State Legislative Elections, eds. Thompson, Joel A. and Moncrief, Gary F.. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Moncrief, Gary F., Squire, Peverill, and Jewell, Malcolm. 2001. Who Runs for the Legislature? Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Nathan, Richard P. 1996. “The Role of the States in American Federalism.” In The State of the States, ed. Van Horn, Carl E.. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
National Institute on Money in State Politics. 1998. Follow the Money Database.http://www.followthemoney.org/database/enter.phtml.Google Scholar
Owens, John R., and Olson, Edward C.. 1977. “Campaign Spending and the Electoral Process in California.” Western Political Quarterly 30:493–512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pritchard, Anita. 1992. “Strategic Considerations in the Decision to Challenge a State Legislative Incumbent.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 17:381–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polsby, Nelson W. 1983. The Consequences of Party Reform. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ranney, Austin. 1975. Curing the Mischiefs of Faction: Party Reform in America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 1998. The Decline of Representative Democracy: Process, Participation, and Power in State Legislatures. Washington, DC: CQ Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 2001. The Third House: Lobbyists and Lobbying in the States. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salmore, Stephen A., and Salmore, Barbara G.. 1996. “The Transformation of State Electoral Politics.” In The State of the States, ed. Van Horn, Carl E.. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, Joseph A. 1966. Ambition and Politics: Political Careers in the United States. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company.Google Scholar
Sorauf, Frank J. 1980a. Party Politics in America. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Sorauf, Frank J. 1980b. “Political Parties and Political Action Committees: Two Life Cycles.” Arizona Law Review 22:445–464.Google Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2000. “Uncontested Seats in State Legislative Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 25:131–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Clive S., and Hrebenar, Ronald J.. 1991. “Nationalization of Interest Groups and Lobbying in the States.” In Interest Group Politics, eds. Cigler, Allan J. and Loomis, Burdett A.. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, Joel A., and Moncrief, Gary. 1992. “The Evolution of the State Legislature: Institutional Change and Legislative Careers.” In Changing Patterns in State Legislative Careers, eds. Moncrief, Gary and Thompson, Joel A.. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, Joel A., Kurtz, Karl, and Moncrief, Gary. 1996. “We've Lost That Family Feeling: The Changing Norms of the New Breed of State Legislators.” Social Science Quarterly 77:344–362.Google Scholar
Thurber, James A., and Nelson, Candice J., eds. 2000. Campaign Warriors: Political Consultants in Elections. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald, Leiter, Jeffrey, and Thompson, Shealy. 1994. “Organizational Survey Non-Responses.” Administrative Science Quarterly 39 (3):439–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, Harvey J., and Weber, Ronald E.. 1987. “State Legislative Election Outcomes: Contextual Effects and Legislative Performance Effects.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 12:537–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Dunk, Emily. 1997. “Challenger Quality in State Legislative Elections.” Political Research Quarterly 50:793–807.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, Jack L. Jr. 1983. “The Origins and Maintenance of Interest Groups in America.” American Political Science Review 77:390–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar