The Politics of Congressional Elections

by Gary C. Jacobson

This edition analyses recent electoral trends in Congress and demonstrates how electoral politics reflect and shape other components of the American political system. The role of finance in the electoral process is also covered.

Genres: Political Science, Nonfiction, Politics

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Iliya Liampert · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overall great and detailed textbook on a fascinating topic of congressional elections.

[Annie K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would almost rate this badly, but that'd just be because the class was hard. The subject matter was actually very interesting and the book is well-written, informative, and incredibly helpful.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very useful text that covers a lot of your political science basics in the realm of Congress and campaigns for Congress. There have been many editions of the book, and you would be wise to seek out the newer editions in order to read more up-to-date information.

The basic issue that plagues Congress in Jacobson's view is the disconnection between the individual responsibility of each legislator to win re-election from the collective Congressional responsibility of lawmaking. Since individual lawmakers are not held accountable for the overall performance of Congress, incentives for institutional upkeep have eroded over time leading to the situation we find ourselves in at the present moment, where Congress is widely disrespected and even members of Congress themselves feel free to shit on the institution.

But Jacobson also hits on tons of other important topics, from campaign finance to changes in redistricting to time spent in districts, and all the other major things you discuss when you discuss Congress. If, like me, you are the kind of weirdo who enjoys talking about this stuff, you'll be absorbed by this book, even in spite of its generic sounding title.

[Katie Holem · Rating 2 out of 5]

School book for my Congress and legislative power class. I had a hard time staying awake when I was reading. It's not really my favorite subject to learn about.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book on Congressional politics and elections was assigned reading in a political science course I took in college. It covered campaign strategy, voting behavior, national forces, gerrymandering, election law, presidential coattail, the power of the incumbency, divided government, campaign finance and more. It's a very scholarly book with charts and loads of statistics. I never found it dry--I found it fascinating in fact. But then, I was a political science major by choice, with a background in campaigns--so of course this would appeal to my inner political geek. If I have any reservations in recommending it, it's that its very currency back in 1997 would mean a lot of the information--I would especially assume that to be the case in campaign finance--would be outdated.

[Andy Biggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

4th Edition

[DawnMarie Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great author and book. I had to read this for a graduate class and it contained loads of useful information.

[Halee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, but very very dry.