Fighting "Change" in Congressional Campaigns

Authors

  • Randall E. Adkins
  • David A. Dulio

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2374-7781.2009.30.0.107-113

Abstract

The results of the 2008 election cycle were historic. After all of the votes were tallied, Senator Barack Obama garnered more votes than his principal opponent, Senator John McCain. Although the election brought the first African-American president to Washington, there is a lot more to the story. Congressional campaigns are often overshadowed by the presidential campaign and thereby left out of the post-election discussion. This is a mistake. Campaigns for House and Senate seats are just as important to how the nation will move ahead on serious issues in the coming years. Congress, after all, is responsible for delivering to President Obama the legislation that makes up his agenda. In 2008 congressional Democrats increased their margins in both the House and the Senate and returned the Democratic Party to unified control of government. The articles in this special issue of the American Review of Politics examine six important congressional campaigns and help tell the story of the 2008 election, beyond Barack Obamas historic victory.

References

Fenno, Richard F. 1978. Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Boston: Little, Brown.

Jacobson, Gary C., and Samuel Kernell. 1983. Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

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Published

2009-07-01

Issue

Section

Articles