CAMPAIGNING FOR CONGRESS:
CANDIDATES, POLITICAL PARTIES, INTEREST GROUPS, AND VOTERS
IN CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS

Professor Paul S. Herrnson

"Of course it's political. I made a political campaign pledge on the political campaign trail to a politically interested group about a politically sensitive subject. It's good politics to fulfill a campaign pledge, and I fulfilled it... the first chance I got."

—Rep. George Gekas (R-Pa.), defending himself from Democratic charges that he acts like a politician.

This seminar focuses on congressional campaigns, drawing examples from recent elections. Congressional campaigns will be examined from several perspectives, including those of candidates, party officials, and interest group leaders. The class will explore the backgrounds of congressional candidates, the decision to run for office, campaign organization, campaign finance, strategy, communications, the roles of parties and interest groups, and related topics.

The seminar will draw on the expertise available in the Washington area. Party officials and political consultants who work in congressional elections will brief the class. Students are advised that they may need to adjust their schedules to attend the briefings.

Course Requirements:

Students will be required to complete three written assignments, participate in class, and make some field trips to Washington, D.C. to visit various political organizations. Two of the written assignments involve a case study of one congressional election. The first paper will encompass the conditions in the congressional district prior to the election, the backgrounds of the primary candidates, the roles of interest groups in the campaign, and the outcome of the primary contests. The second paper will focus on the general election, including the candidates' campaign strategies, fundraising, communications, and get-out-the-vote activities. It also will assess political party and interest group efforts. The two papers should be roughly 18-20 pages each. The third written assignment, roughly 3 pages, will make predictions about the election outcome. More information about the papers is available at http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/herrnson/congels.html.

Grades will be based on the following:

First paper: 30%
Second paper: 40%
Election prediction paper: 10%
Class participation, quizzes, and miscellaneous assignments: 20%

Textbooks and Other Required Readings:

Robert Biersack, Paul Herrnson, and Clyde Wilcox, eds., After the Revolution: PACs, Lobbies and the Republican Congress, Allyn and Bacon.

Anthony Corrado, et al. The New Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook, Brookings Institution.

Ronald Faucheux and Paul Herrnson, eds. Campaign Battle Lines, Washington, D.C.: Campaigns & Elections (available free in class).

William H. Flanigan and Nancy H. Zingale, Political Behavior of the American Electorate, CQ Press.

Paul Herrnson, Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington, 4th ed., CQ Press, 2004.

Darrell West, Patrick Kennedy: The Rise to Power, Prentice Hall.

Optional Textbooks:

Gary Jacobson, The Politics of Congressional Elections, Addison Wesley Longman.

Kim Fridkin Kahn and Patrick J. Kenney, No Holds Barred: Negativity in U.S. Senate Campaigns, Prentice Hall.

Paul Herrnson, ed. Playing Hardball: Campaigning for the U.S. Congress, Prentice Hall.

David Magleby, ed., The Other Campaign: Soft Money and Issue Advocacy in the 2000 Congressional Elections, Rowman and Littlefield.

All of the textbooks are available at the university bookstore, except for Campaign Battle Lines. All of the other texts and additional readings also have been placed on reserve.

In addition to the above reading, students will be expected to follow the events connected with the upcoming elections as they unfold. Students should read a major newspaper and consult Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports, National Journal, Roll Call (http://www.rollcall.com/), or The Hill (http://www.hillnews.com) on a regular basis. They should also clip newspaper stories and monitor the Internet for information about their case studies.

Assignment Schedule:

Class 1: Introduction

Class 2: Overview of the Strategic Environment

  • Herrnson, Introduction and ch. 1
  • Corrado et al., pp. 5-24, 27-35, 53-57, 59-60, 63-77, 87-92

Class 3: Congressional Candidates and Campaign Organizations

  • Herrnson, chs. 2,3
  • L. Sandy Maisel, Walter J. Stone, Cherie Maestas, "Quality Challengers to Congressional Incumbents: Can Better Candidates Be Found?," in Playing Hardball: Campaigning for the U.S. Congress (on reserve)
  • West, entire book

Class 4: Political Parties/Tutorials

  • Corrado et al., pp. 167-177, 198-213, 217-222
  • Herrnson, ch. 4

Class 5: Political Parties (continued)

  • *Briefing at the National Republican Congressional Committee, 310 First St. SE, Washington, D.C. (near Capitol South metro stop)

Class 6: Student Presentations

  • *First paper, press clippings, and interview notes due in class

Class 7: Interest Groups

  • Corrado et al., pp. 227-242, 267
  • Herrnson, ch. 5
  • Biersack, et al., chs. 2, 5, 6, 8, 10
  • Faucheux and Herrnson, ch. 15

Class 8: Campaign Fundraising

  • Herrnson, ch. 6
  • *Briefing by a political consultant

Class 9: Voting Behavior/Tutorials

  • Flanigan and Zingale, entire book
  • *Election predictions due in class

Class 10: Campaign Strategy and Communications

  • Herrnson, chs. 7,8
  • *Briefing by a political consultant

Class 11: Election Outcomes/Tutorials

  • Herrnson, ch. 9
  • Faucheux and Herrnson, chs. 2, 7, 8, 11, 14

Class 12: Elections, Governance, and Campaign Reform

  • Herrnson, chs. 10-11
  • Corrado et al., pp. 95-120, 337-343, 379-392

Class 13: Student Presentations

Class 14: Student Presentations

  • *Final paper, press clippings, Internet sources, and interview notes for both papers due in class.