State Legislative Election Outcomes: Contextual Effects and Legislative Performance Effects

Tucker, Harvey J.; Weber, R.

doi:10.2307/439747

Cited by 35 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…While partisanship commonly plays a role (Jewell and Olson 1982: 205-9), gubernatorial elections are more the result of factors such as incumbency and candidates' personal attributes (Pierson 1977;Sabato 1983: 138-46;Chubb 1988). On the other hand, partisanship is a key determinant of state legislative election outcomes (Caldeira and Patterson 1982;Giles and Pritchard 1985;Tucker and Weber 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interparty Competition in the American States: an Examination of Index Components

King

1989

Western Political Quarterly

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EW aspects of political activities in the American states have attracted m~ the attention as has the level of competition between the Democratic and Republican parties. In the wake of V. O. Key's (1949 and 1956) classic works in the field of state party systems and elections, numerous scholars have proposed measures of interparty competition (e.g., ) while others have sought to determine the policy consequences of such competition (e.g., ). In comparison, much less effort has been devoted to the question of why the party systems in some states are more competitive than those in others; studies investigating the determinants of party systems generally point to the link between interparty competition and socioeconomic factors. Several recent studies have focused on changes in the nature and effects of interparty competition over time (Tucker 1982;Feigert 1985;Kenney and Rice 1985; Tucker and Herzik 1986).Absent from these studies, however, is a separate consideration of the various dimensions of an index of interparty competition. This paper explores this aspect of interparty competition by examining relationships among the components of the commonly used Ranney index. Interparty competition in the chambers of state legislatures and for the governorship are analyzed in an effort to enhance our understanding of state party systems. MEASURING INTERPARTY COMPETITIONThe literature on American state politics is replete with measures of interparty competition. With an occasional exception, these measures are based on the percentage of elections won by parties, the frequency of turnover in party control of offices, the percent of votes or legislative seats won, or a combination of the above. Some studies include contests for both national and state offices while others restrict themselves to elections at one level or the other. Each basis for an interparty competition index has its strengths and weaknesses (Pfeiffer 1967: 457-62; Zody and Luttbeg 1968).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interparty Competition in the American States: an Examination of Index Components

King

1989

Western Political Quarterly

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“…As previous studies show, competition between parties at the district level has a large impact on the percentage of the vote that candidates receive (e.g., Gierzynski and Breaux 1991;Tucker and Weber 1987). When partisanship favors a particular party, that party's candidate will receive a higher percentage of the vote, all other things being equal.…”

Section: District Factorsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Past studies demonstrate that spending allocated by a candidate's campaign for voter contact has a large influence on voter support (e.g., Abramowitz 1988;Gierzynski and Breaux 1991;Giles and Pritchard 1985;Jacobson 1978;Tucker and Weber 1987). Past studies also demonstrate the potential difficulties associated with measuring the effects of campaign spending (e.g., Green and Krasno 1988;Jacobson 1978).…”

Section: Candidate Factorsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Candidate Gender and Voter Support in State Legislative Elections

Hogan

2010

Journal of Women, Politics & Policy

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To what extent does candidate gender influence voter support in state legislative elections? This question is addressed in a candidate-level analysis of campaigns involving men and women in 20 states in the 1990s. The findings demonstrate some statistically significant differences by gender-women actually receive a higher percentage of the vote, although these effects are insufficiently large to influence their likelihood of winning. Additional analyses consider characteristics of districts and states that increase or dampen support for women. For example, women receive a greater vote percentage in districts where education levels are higher and where there is a larger proportion of African Americans. Overall, the major conclusion to emerge is that women have a slight edge over men in gaining voter support, but factors such as candidacy status, partisanship of the district, and campaign spending have a much stronger influence on election outcomes.

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“…Although we know that money matters in state legislative elections to some degree, both in state legislative primaries and general elections (Caldeira & Patterson, 1982;Giles & Pritchard, 1985;Tucker & Weber, 1987), we are still largely in the dark about what factors may condition the impact of spending. In the single best study on the varying impact of campaign expenditures in state legislative elections, Gierzynski and Breaux (1996) uncover significant evidence of the conditional effects of a number of district-level contextual and conversion factors.…”

Section: A Conditional Theory Of State Legislative Election Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Money and State Legislative Elections: The Conditional Impact of Political Context

Seabrook

2010

American Politics Research

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This study builds on existing literature demonstrating the conditional effects of contextual and conversion factors on the relationship between money and votes in state legislative elections. A conditional theory of the impact of spending in state legislative campaigns is developed, emphasizing that the effectiveness of expenditures should vary according to the number of "up for grabs" voters in a district, candidate quality, and strategic decisions about when to enter a race. Using an original data set of elections to state legislatures in nine states, the analysis provides evidence that the political and institutional context of a race has a significant impact on the effectiveness of campaign spending. Specifically, the percentage of registered independents in a district, the presence or absence of term limits on legislators, and the level of professionalism of a legislature each significantly condition the impact of money.

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State Legislative Election Outcomes: Contextual Effects and Legislative Performance Effects

Cited by 35 publications

References 8 publications

Interparty Competition in the American States: an Examination of Index Components

Interparty Competition in the American States: an Examination of Index Components

Candidate Gender and Voter Support in State Legislative Elections

Money and State Legislative Elections: The Conditional Impact of Political Context

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