Campaigns and Elections American Style

Campaigns and Elections American Style scrutinizes the landscape of contemporary campaigns and elections-with a special focus on the 2016 presidential and congressional races and what those elections might tell us about the 2018 and 2020 elections-through a unique combination of scholarly research and practical insight. The significantly revamped fifth edition explores the political context of today's campaigns and elections, new voter targeting and mobilization techniques, changes in election laws over the past decade, the development of campaign strategies, and the evolving landscape of campaign finance. A new part structure and the addition of part introductions will further help students contextualize the major issues and trends in campaigns and elections.
Students, citizens, candidates, and campaign managers will gain a real education in practical campaign politics. Offering a mix of Democrat and Republican, academic and practitioner, and male and female campaign perspectives, this book is essential reading for political junkies of any stripe and serious students of campaigns and elections.

James A. Thurber is a Distinguished University Professor of Government and the Founder and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in Washington, DC. Dr. Thurber is the author, coauthor, and editor of Obama In Office, Rivals for Power: Presidential-Congressional Relations, Campaign Warriors: Political Consultants in Elections, Crowded Airways: Campaign Advertising in Elections, The Battle for Congress: Consultants, Candidates, and Voters, Congress and the Internet.

Candice J. Nelson is a Professor in the Department of Government, and the academic director of the Campaign Management Institute at American University. She is the author of Grant Park: The Democratization of Presidential Elections: 1968-2008, coauthor of The Myth of the Independent Voter, Vital Signs: Perspective on the Health of American Campaigning, and The Money Chase: Congressional Campaign Finance Reform, and co-editor of Campaign Warriors: Political Consultants in Elections, Crowded Airways: Campaign Advertising in Elections, and Shades of Gray: Perspectives on Campaign Ethics.