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An insider's look into the largely anonymous volunteers in local party organizations who make decisions in elections with profound implications for American democracy.Although scholars have long recognized that local American parties play an important role in elections, surprisingly little is known about the individuals who lead these typically small, volunteer-based organizations. As David Doherty, Conor M. Dowling, and
Michael G. Miller show in Small Power, local party leaders influence the electoral process in myriad ways: They recruit and support candidates, interface with state-wide and federal campaigns, and get out the vote in their
communities. Drawing from a survey of over 850 Democratic and Republican local party chairs, a nationally representative sample of voters, and dozens of in-depth interviews, the authors describe how parties are organized, who party chairs are, and how they serve the party. Leveraging novel experiments that illuminate how chairs make choices about which individuals to recruit as candidates--as well as whether those choices reflect voters' preferences--Small Power sheds new light on how
seemingly mundane local decisions can shape party goals, influence candidate pipelines, and affect who ends up winning elections. The book therefore offers unprecedented insight into the substantial influence
that local parties and their chairpersons are positioned to wield and how they shape American politics.
An insider's look into the largely anonymous volunteers in local party organizations who make decisions in elections with profound implications for American democracy.Although scholars have long recognized that local American parties play an important role in elections, surprisingly little is known about the individuals who lead these typically small, volunteer-based organizations. As David Doherty, Conor M. Dowling, and
Michael G. Miller show in Small Power, local party leaders influence the electoral process in myriad ways: They recruit and support candidates, interface with state-wide and federal campaigns, and get out the vote in their
communities. Drawing from a survey of over 850 Democratic and Republican local party chairs, a nationally representative sample of voters, and dozens of in-depth interviews, the authors describe how parties are organized, who party chairs are, and how they serve the party. Leveraging novel experiments that illuminate how chairs make choices about which individuals to recruit as candidates--as well as whether those choices reflect voters' preferences--Small Power sheds new light on how
seemingly mundane local decisions can shape party goals, influence candidate pipelines, and affect who ends up winning elections. The book therefore offers unprecedented insight into the substantial influence
that local parties and their chairpersons are positioned to wield and how they shape American politics.
I Local Party Organizations and the Electoral Landscape
1 Introduction
2 Local Parties and their Leaders
3 What Do Local Party Chairs Do?
4 Chairs and Candidates: Recruiting and Support
5 Local Parties and Election Outcomes
II How Chairs View Candidates
6 Introduction to Part II
7 Money, Commitment, and Community Ties
8 Candidate Gender
9 Candidate Race and Ethnicity
10 Candidates' Policy Dispositions
11 Small Power
Appendices
A Appendix
A.1 Additional Analysis
A.1.1 Additional Analysis: Part I
A.1.2 Additional Analysis: Part II
References
Index
David Doherty is Associate Professor of Political Science at Loyola
University Chicago. His work focuses on political behaviour. His
research has appeared in journals including The American Political
Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, The Journal
of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, and Political Behavior.
Conor M. Dowling is Associate Professor of Political Science at the
University of Mississippi. His work focuses on mass and elite
political behavior. His previous books include Unhealthy Politics
(2017) and Super PAC! Money, Elections, and Voters After Citizens
United (2014).
Michael G. Miller is Assistant Professor of Political Science at
Barnard College of Columbia University. His work focuses on
American elections, campaign finance, and party organizations. His
previous books include Subsidizing Democracy (2014) and Super PAC!
Money, Elections, and Voters After Citizens United (2014).
The quantitative and qualitative information complement each other
and make an interesting and compelling case in each chapter. In
addition to its relevance to practitioners involved in the local
election process, this book is essential for all scholars who study
parties and elections. This reviewer would strongly consider using
it in his own courses on these topics.
*C. Kinsella, Ball State University, CHOICE*
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