Candidates and Local Campaigns

Abstract

A recent political anthropology argues that the character of Canadian parties' constituency election campaigns is largely determined by the nature of their local associations' nomination politics, as shaped by the electoral appeal of the constituencies in which it takes place. Three characteristics of the nomination process define a model that suggests there are only four basic types of candidate in Canadian elections, each producing a distinctive campaign organization and style in terms of both constituency activity and the integration of the local campaign with that of its national party. In this article, we use the data from a national survey of local associations of the national parties to explore the applicability of the proposed typology and test hypothesized party organizational and campaign relationships that flow from this theory of local campaign politics.

Individualised Constituency Campaigns in Mixed-Member Electoral Systems: Candidates in the 2005 German Elections

“…Selective recruitment can be seen as a third mechanism creating a causal connection between the chances to win a direct mandate and the campaign strategy. Carty et al (2003) argue that internal competition for a district nomination is stiff in those districts with chances to win the mandate. In these cases, attractive and ambitious candidates will enter the internal race, some of them with a high affinity to the district they aim to compete in.…”

Directly Elected Mayors and their Parties: The Cases of Genoa and Lausanne

“…Likewise, and of particular relevance to this article, the political salience of local factors within parties at subnational level may be higher amid decentralization processes (Ansell and Gingrich 2003;Hopkin and van Houten 2009) and within long-standing federal systems (Carty and Eagles 2005). To put it simply, while there remains much within the 'black box' of party organization and change generally that we do not know about, this is particularly the case at local level.…”

“…Indeed, the picture as regards the interaction between the different faces of the party is not accepted by all: for example, some scholars (Scarrow 1996; Seyd and Whiteley 2002) contend that, while absolute numbers may have fallen, the decline of grassroots membership influence within parties may have been overstated. Likewise, and of particular relevance to this article, the political salience of local factors within parties at subnational level may be higher amid decentralization processes (Ansell and Gingrich 2003; Hopkin and van Houten 2009) and within long-standing federal systems (Carty and Eagles 2005). To put it simply, while there remains much within the ‘black box’ of party organization and change generally that we do not know about, this is particularly the case at local level.…”

Surveying the Canadian State: Evolution of Canadian Political Science, Politics, and Government Since 1967

“…Democratic engagement, of course, involves much more than national-level contests. Within political parties, citizens are activated through the traditional processes such as constituency campaigning (Carty and Eagles, 2005) and the nomination of delegates to vote in leadership contests (Courtney, 1995). But a new ethos of political participation has been building, characterized by interest groups and citizens energetically challenging elites and institutional structures (Nevitte, 1996), including urging change to the electoral system itself.…”