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Theories of ambition teach us that elected offices are valuable commodities to certain politicians, and under the right circumstances, the benefits of running for an office outweigh the associated risks. Yet, some ambitious politicians emerge as candidates while others do not. This book analyzes strategic candidacy decisions to explain how primary elections for the United States Senate unfold. With new, comprehensive data on pools of potential candidates, it examines the determinants of electoral and fundraising success, analyzes the importance of the timing of candidacy decisions and the strategic interactions of prospective officeholders, and investigates the impact of strategic retirements. Using both qualitative and quantitative tools, including event history techniques to capture the complex dynamics of these races, it concludes that the manner in which politicians interact with one another and the unique context within each campaign leads to individuals emerging from the pool of potential candidates in systematic ways. In the end, the strategic behavior of ambitious politicians has important implications for the slate of candidates available to the electorate and ultimately, the quality of representation between constituents and their legislators.
List of contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Ambition from a New Perspective
Chapter 2: The Strategic Timing of Candidacy Decisions
Chapter 3: A Dynamic Data Collection Strategy
Chapter 4: Candidate Quality and Success in Primary Elections
Chapter 5: An Empirical Assessment of the Timing of Candidacy Decisions
Chapter 6: Strategic Interactions of Potential Candidates
Chapter 7: Strategic Retirements and the Decision Timeline
Chapter 8: Choice and Competition in Elections: What Do Americans Want?
Chapter 9: Conclusion
Technical Appendix
About the Author
About the author
By Aaron S. King
Summary
This book analyzes strategic candidacy decisions to explain how primary elections for the United States Senate unfold. With new, comprehensive data on pools of potential candidates, it examines the determinants of electoral and fundraising success, analyzes the timing of candidacy decisions, and investigates the impact of strategic retirements.
