Campaigns and Elections in American Politics
The City College of New York
Classroom: HR 09
Tues-Thurs: 2:00—3:15pm
Instructor: Professor DiSalvo
Email: ddisalvo@ccny.cuny.edu
Office Hours: Tues. 3-5pm or by appointment
Office: NAC 4/138C
Office phone: (212) 650-5940
Course Description
For most Americans, elections—especially, presidential elections—are the most engaging of all
political events. Elections have elements of drama, from the tragic and the noble to the pathetic
and the ridiculous. An election is also appealing because it is a competitive contest in which
there can be only one winner. Therefore, although modern democracy is based on free, fair, and
peaceful electoral processes, campaigns are often discussed using words derived from warfare.
First of all, candidates must wage a campaign. Once a campaign is underway, battlefield
terminology is omnipresent. Think of the terms—such as attack, target, invade, destroy, and
finish off—that are regularly used to describe what is taking place. We also hear countless
allusions to strategies, skirmishes, strongholds, war rooms, boots on the ground, and
battleground states. Boxing metaphors are also frequently invoked. Candidates are said to be
taking their gloves off, coming out swinging, going toe to toe, and pummeling one another. At
the same time, it is often held to be important that candidates demonstrate the ability to duck,
deflect, and throw a punch. When one candidate is in trouble, they are sometimes described as
down for the count, while the other candidate is trying for a knockout. In sum, campaigns and
elections are a form of civic combat.
Because the media loves conflict it often focuses on these aspects of campaigns and elections.
Yet, the serious student of politics and the informed citizens must pay attention to the underlying
factors which help explain how campaigns operate and determine who wins. The rules and
norms of the electoral game, so to speak, are important determinants of how democracy works in
practice. Because elections are the mainsprings of democratic politics, it is necessary to
understand elections in order to understand American democracy.
The aim of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of the institutions, laws,
and actors in American electoral politics. The focus will primarily be on the electoral contests
for national office: the Presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Topics to be
treated, therefore, include: modes of candidate selection; the character of modern campaign
organizations; the role of interest groups; the voting behavior of American citizens; the campaign
finance system; the differences between presidential and congressional contests; and the
relationship between campaigning and winning elections on the one hand, and governing, on the
other.
Texts for purchase
 Paul S. Herrnson, Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington,
5th ed. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007).

Emmett Buell & Lee Sigelman, Attack Politics: Negativity in Presidential Campaigns
Since 1960 (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2007).
Assignments and Grading
 Two 5-7 page papers (25% each)
 Election presentation (10%)
 Take-home final exam (25%)
 Class participation (15%)
Papers: I will pass out a list of three or four questions. Your task will be at answer one of these
questions in 7 to 10 typed (12 point font), double-spaced pages, with 1-inch margins. If you
have prepared properly for class, these essays should write themselves. Papers will be marked
down a third of a letter grade for each day they are late. If you think you are going to be late
turning in your paper, talk to me in advance!
Election Presentation: Students should begin following a race this fall. It can be a race for a seat
in the House of Representatives or the Senate (no governorships). Students should pick one of
the races that are competitive. Following a race means reading about it in the local newspapers
(which can be found online at www.onlinenewspapers.com), in the national press (The New York
Times, Washington Post, CNN, FOX News, Newsweek, Time, The New Republic, The Weekly
Standard, The Nation, the National Review, CQ Weekly, The National Journal, etc.), and
specialized publications (The Cook Report, Rothberg Report, Campaigns & Elections, etc.). I
will discuss sources to look at in class. Students will then develop an analysis of their race and
present it to the class.
Take-Home Final Exam: A set of questions will be passed out at the end of the course. The
exams must be typed (12 point font), double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. Late exams will be
given an “F.”
Class Participation: An effort has been made to keep the amount of reading reasonable so that
students can complete it and be prepared for class each day. Class will be a mix of lecture and
discussion. Both quantity and quality of class participation will therefore be very important.
Assigned Readings: Readings will be posted on Blackboard. Students are, of course, expected to
do all of the assigned readings. Obviously, you will get more out of the course by doing so. I
may make occasional changes to the syllabus, especially toward the end of the course.
All assignments must be completed. Failure to do so will result in an “F” in the course.
Learning Outcomes
1. Students will acquire improved general analytic abilities, i.e. enable students to
understand the principal issues in American politics, the basic alternative lines of
argument and political discourse therein, and be able to recognize and address important
assumptions, both explicit and unexamined, underlying those lines or argument;
2. Understand the nature of key political institutions at local, state, and national levels, why
they matter, competing philosophies concerning them, and how and why they vary in
different historical, cultural and socioeconomic settings;
3. Develop a critical understanding of political conditions, behavior, and processes, and the
strengths and weaknesses of organizational strategies, arguments, and goals fashioned by
political actors to deal with them.
4. Improve their ability to read, comprehend, and write about political ideas, institutions,
processes, and behavior, including an ability to discern the distinction between normative
and empirical explanations of political phenomena.
5. Learn the avenues through which ordinary people become politically involved citizens at
local, state, and national levels.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Introduction to the course
Thursday, August 28
What are parties?
Tuesday, September 2
 Edmund Burke, “Thoughts on the Causes of Present Discontents.” (The last three
paragraphs)
 John Aldrich, Why Parties, Ch. 1.
 James W. Ceaser, “Political Parties,” American Government (selection)
Anti-Party versus Party Views of American Democracy
Thursday, September 4
 James Madison, Federalist #10
 Thomas Jefferson, excerpts from various letters
 George Washington, “Farewell Address”
Types of Parties and the American Electoral System
Tuesday, September 9
 James Q. Wilson, Political Organizations, rev. ed. (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1995), Ch. 6.
 “Your Voice, Your Choice, Your Vote,” Electoral Reform Society.
The Purposes of Elections
Thursday, September 11
 Sandy Maisel, Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process, 4th ed. (Lanham:
Rowman and Littlefield, 2004), Ch. 1.
Party Ideologies: Liberalism and Conservatism
Tuesday, September 16
 Marquis de Condorcet, Sketch for a Historical Picture of Progress (1795) (selection)
 Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom (1913) (selection)
 Franklin D. Roosevelt, “An Economic Bill of Rights” (1944)
 Michael Tomasky, “The Party in Search of a Notion,” The American Prospect
Thursday, September 18
 Ronald Reagan, “State of the Union” (1984)
 John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, “Reaganism,” Wall Street Journal
 James W. Ceaser, “Creed Versus Culture: Alternative Foundations of Modern
Conservatism,” Heritage Papers (2006).
Campaign Issues, Themes, and Polling
Tuesday, September 23
 Donald Stokes, “Spatial Models and Party Competition,” American Political Science
Review 57 (1963).
 John Dilulio, “Symbolitics as Usual,” The Weekly Standard, January 21, 2008.
 Herbet Ahser, “Polling and Elections,” Polling and the Public: What Every Citizen
Should Know, 7th Edition, (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press).
*** First Paper Due Tuesday, September 23 in Class
Presidential Nominations
Thursday, September 25
 James W. Ceaser, “Political Parties and Presidential Ambition” Journal of Politics
 Martin Van Buren, “Letter to Thomas Ritchie” (1827)
No Class Tuesday September 30
Thursday, October 2
 Woodrow Wilson, “Leaders of Men” (1889)
 James W. Ceaser, “What a Long, Strange Race It’s Been,” The Claremont Review of
Books (Spring 2008).
 Special Report, “No Way to Pick a Nominee,” Business Week, June 14, 2004.
The Electoral College
Tuesday, October 7
 Judith A. Best, “Presidential Selection: Complex Problems and Simple Solutions,”
Political Science Quarterly 119 (Spring 2004): 39-59.
 National Conference of State Legislatures, “Electoral College Bills, 2007-2008.”
No Class Thursday, October 9
Presidential Campaigns
Tuesday, October 14
 Emmett Buell & Lee Sigelman, Attack Politics: Negativity in Presidential Campaigns
Since 1960 (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2007), Chs. 1-4.
Thursday, October 16
 Buell & Sigelman, Attack Politics, Chs. 5-8.
Congressional Campaigns and Elections
Tuesday, October 21
 Paul S. Herrnson, Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington,
4th ed. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2003), pp. 1-5, Ch. 2.
 Greg Giroux, “The Hidden Elections: The Day of the Mapmaker,” CQ Weekly, 2000.
Thursday, October 23
 Herrnson, Congressional Elections, Ch. 4 (Look at 7 if you have time).
Tuesday, October 28
 Herrnson, Congressional Elections, Ch. 9
***Second Paper Due Tuesday October 28 in Class
Campaign Finance
Thursday, October 30
 Herrnson, Congressional Elections, Chs. 6 & 11.
Tuesday, November 4
 Joseph E. Cantor, “Campaign Financing,” Congressional Research Service, Issue Brief,
2003.
 Thomas Mann, “Linking Knowledge and Action: Political Science and Campaign
Finance Reform,” Perspectives on Politics (March 2003).
 Raymond La Raja, “Choosing Public Funds? Why presidential candidates can’t avoid
being called hypocrites.” (2008)
Interest Groups and Election Campaigns
Thursday, November 6
 Herrnson, Congressional Elections, Ch. 5.
2008 Election presentations in class
Tuesday, November 11
2008 Election presentations in class
Thursday, November 13
Analysis of the 2008 Elections
Tuesday, November 18
 TBA
***Election Presentation Memos Due in Class Tuesday, November 18
American Voters
Thursday, November 20
 Louis Menand, “How Political Science Understands Voters” The New Yorker
 Libby Copeland, “Another Peek Inside the Brain of the Electorate,” Washington Post,
July 14, 2008.
Voter Turn Out and Political Participation
Tuesday, November 25
 James Q. Wilson, “A Closer Look at Nonvoting,” American Government, pp 179-187.
 Michael P. McDonald, “Up, Up and Away! Voter Participation in the 2004 Presidential
Election,” The Forum vol. 2, Issue 4 (2004), Article 4.
 Kay Lehman Schlozman, Henry E. Brady and Sidney Verba, “The Big Tilt: Participatory
Inequality in America” American Prospect
No Class Thursday November 27 (Thanksgiving)
Partisan Polarization
Tuesday, December 2
 Morris Fiorina, “What Culture Wars?” Wall Street Journal, July 14, 2004.
 James Q. Wilson, “How Divided Are We?” Commentary (February 2006).
 Jordan Ellenberg, “Growing Apart: The Mathematical Evidence for Congress’ Growing
Polarization,” Slate.com
 Mark Kady, “Party Unity: Learning to Stick Together,” CQ Weekly, January 9, 2006.
 Alan Abramowitz and Kyle Sanders, “Can’t We All Just Get Along? The Reality of
Polarized America,” The Forum Vol. 3 Iss. 2, 2005.
Elections and Governance
Thursday, December 4
 Herrnson, Congressional Elections, Ch. 10.
 Joseph G. Cannon, “Defense of Parties Speech” (1912) (excerpt)
Tuesday, December 9
 David R. Mayhew, The Electoral Connection (selection)
 Samuel Kernell, Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership (selection)
 James Q. Wilson, “The Politics of Public Policy,” in American Government, pp. 473-479.
The Contemporary State and Future of the Parties
Thursday, December 11
 Bill Frey, “The Electoral College Moves to the Sunbelt,” Brookings Institution
 TBA
Catch up and review
Tuesday December 16
 No reading
Final Exam Due Friday, December 19 by 5pm.