Suchergebnisse

Comments on Tie-ting Su, Alan Neustadtl, & Dan Clawson's "Business and the Conservative Shift: Corporate PAC Contributions, 1976-1986" (1995 [see abstract 9601004]), arguing that government intervention & institutional structure played a more significant part in the corporate shift in political action than their analysis admits. It is suggested that the successful fund-raising activities of Tony Coelho, chairman of the Democratic House Campaign Committee in 1981, demonstrate the ability of politicians to use institutional structures to force corporate contribution allocation strategies to cross party lines. It is argued that in not paying closer attention to the historical record of how institutional positions have been used during fund-raising efforts, Su, Neustadtl, & Clawson mischaracterized political strong-arming as an apparently pragmatic bipartisan corporate political action strategy. 1 Table, 7 References. S. Barrera

PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS EXAMINED THE IMPACT OF THE MAJORITY VOTE OR RUNOFF ELECTION REQUIREMENT ONT EH SUCCESS OF MINORITY AND INCUMBENT CANDIDATES IN THE SOUTH. THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE CONSEQUENCES OF RUNOFFS IN CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS. CONTRARY TO ALLEGATIONS THAT RUNOFFS DISADVANTAGE MINORITY CANDIDATES, FROM 1975 TO 1991 BOTH MINORITIES AND WOMEN WERE ADVANTAGED BY THE MAJORITY VOTE REQUIREMENT IN CHICAGO, IN ADDITION, THE RUNOFF APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN A CRUCIAL FACTOR IN THE REPLACEMENT OF DALEY-MACHINE BLACK COUNCILLORS IN THE LATE 1970S AND 1980S WITH ALLIES OF HAROLD WASHINGTON.

THE IMPACT OF CHANGE FROM MULTIMEMBER DISTRICTS TO SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS FOLLOWING THE 1980 CENSUS IS EXAMINED IN FIVE STATE LEGISLATIVE BODIES. UNLIKE RESEARCH WHICH HAS REPORTED NET CHANGES STATEWIDE, THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES CHANGES IN ELECTION RESULTS AS PREVIOUSLY MULTIMEMBER DISTRICTS BECAME SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS. THE TRANSFORMATION GENERALLY BENEFITTED MINORITIES AND REPUBLICANS, WITH BOTH GROUPS OFTEN GAINING IN THE SAME (FORMERLY MULTIMEMBER) DISTRICT. THE CHANGE LESS OFTEN RESULTED IN ADDITIONAL FEMALE LEGISLATORS. DELEGATIONS TENDED TO BECOME SOMEWHAT MORE BIPARTISAN AFTER ADOPTION OF SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS.

PERSISTENT DEMOCRATIC DOMINANCE IN OPEN-SEAT RACES CAME TO AN ABRUPT END IN 1994 AS REPUBLICANS GAINED 18 SEATS IN OPEN HOUSE CONTESTS. A LARGE PART OF THIS REPUBLICAN SURGE WAS REGIONAL: SOUTHERN VOTERS REJECTED EXPERIENCED DEMOCRATIC HOUSE CANDIDATES, OFTEN IN FAVOR OF LESS EXPERIENCED REPUBLICANS. IN 1996, THE GOP SUSTAINED ITS MAJORITY AND ACTUALLY REGISTERED A NET GAIN OF SIX SEATS IN NONINCUMBENT CONTESTS. THE CHANGES WHICH BEGAN WITH THE 1994 ELECTIONS HAVE NOT BEEN REVERSED OR ABATED; THE GOP CONTINUES TO MAKE POLITICAL GAINS IN THE SOUTH. IN OPEN-SEAT RACES IN 1996, ELECTIVE EXPERIENCE WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF ELECTORAL SUCCESS. THE SOUTH'S CONTINUED SHIFT TO THE GOP AND THE VOLATILITY OF POLITICAL EXPERIENCE AS AN INDICATOR OF SUCCESS SINCE 1994 INDICATE A CHANGE IN VOTER PREFERENCES AND DECISION MAKING THAT DIMINISHED THE IMPORTANCE OF POLITICAL EXPERIENCE IN WINNING A SEAT IN CONGRESS IN 1996.

Recognizing that females (Fs) are not elected to Congress as often as males (Ms), examined are the emergence, political experience, & financing of open-seat congressional candidates at the district level to determine the role played by gender in the most competitive congressional elections, 1982-1992 (N = 230). Multivariate regression results indicate no direct influence of candidate gender on congressional election outcomes. Fs who won congressional seats did so in the same manner as Ms: they had elective experience & access to adequate financial resources. In 1992, the "year of the woman," F candidates ran in greater numbers with ample resources. This trend did not continue into 1994, when F advancement stalled due to a paucity of F candidates & the preponderance of Fs running as Democrats. 5 Tables, 27 References. Adapted from the source document.

Previous research has examined the impact of the majority vote or runoff election requirement on the success of minority and incumbent candidates in the South. In Chicago city council elections from 1975 to 1991 both minorities and women were advantaged by the majority vote requirement in Chicago. Also, the runoff appears to have been a crucial factor in the replacement of Daley-machine black councillors in the late 1970s and 1980s with allies of Harold Washington. (Original abstract-amended)

THIS ARTICLE FINDS THAT SPECIAL ELECTIONS ARE A SUBSET OF OPEN-SEAT ELECTIONS, WITH BOTH TYPES OF CONTEST STRONGLY IMPACTED BY CANDIDATE AND CONSTITUENCY INFLUENCES. IT FINDS NO EVIDENCE OF A SUBSTANTIAL PRESIDENTIAL-APPROVED EFFECT IN SPECIAL ELECTIONS. THE ABSENCE OF SUCH A RELATIONSHIP UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF CANDIDATES AND CONSTITUENT PREFERENCES IN STRUCTURING ELECTIONS AND INDICATES THE INAPPROPRIATENESS OF DRAWING NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS FROM SPECIAL HOUSE CONTESTS.

The analysis by Ronald Keith Gaddie & Charles S. Bullock, III (1995) of the participation of women in the US Congress in 1992 as a function of various candidate factors is updated & extended here by examining female success in 135 open seat elections, 1994-1998. Multivariate analysis indicates no direct impact of candidate gender on election outcomes when candidate quality & district partisanship are controlled. The finding of a significant drop in the rate of female electoral success since 1992 is attributed to partisan politics, rather than to candidate characteristics. 2 Tables, 7 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

While committee jurisdiction appears to be important at the aggregate level in determining political action committee (PAC) contributions, the study finds other attributes such as legislator's vote history, seniority and electoral marginality dominate PAC strategies at member-level analyses. This reflects microeconomic theories of utility--maximizing behaviour on the part of private sector actors, and politicians. (Abstract amended)