Overview

Most members of Congress begin their careers through regularly scheduled elections, but terms may be cut short due to death, scandal, or different career opportunities. In these cases, special elections are held to fill vacancies. In fact, a number of prominent political figures, including Lyndon Johnson, Nancy Pelosi, and John Dingell, began their long and distinguished careers through special election to Congress. While the media often look to special elections as a way of measuring public sentiment on presidential performance, even though voter turnout tends to be significantly lower than in regular elections, these events have rarely attracted academic attention. Oftentimes, studies of these contests lead to generalizations about how a party should proceed if it hopes to wrest a seat away from the opposition in a special election.This book is the first large-scale scholarly treatment of special elections: both in terms of explaining what factors influence outcomes and in determining whether special elections are bellwethers for general elections. Charles S. Bullock, III and Karen L. Owen argue that special elections offer parties a testing ground for messaging and strategies for mobilizing voters in anticipation of general elections. Moreover, these elections provide opportunities for diversification of Congress as reduced commitment to resources for campaigning has led more women and candidates of color to compete in them--and win. Based on 75 years of data, the authors closely examine several competitive special elections during the first two years of the Trump era and quantitatively assess the almost 300 House special elections held since World War II.

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9780197540626

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Reviews

Finally, two scholars have penned a book-length account of special elections to the U.S. Congress. Bullock and Owen tell us why these contests are important and meticulously document their occurrence since the end of World War II. As many scholars want to know, the authors provide an analysis of the extent to which these contests help us anticipate the dynamics to unfold in the next round of normally scheduled elections. And, given the historic disruption of the Trump Presidency, the authors emphasize what we can learn from the handful of special contests occurring before the 2018 midterms. Thanks to Bullock and Owen, American elections scholars will now have a more thorough and nuanced understanding of special elections and how significant these contests are. * Seth C. McKee, Oklahoma State University * Special Elections is a welcome addition to the literature on congressional elections. It deftly blends a careful systematic analysis of all post-war special elections for the U.S. House with illuminating studies of recent cases. The result is an engaging and sometimes surprising account of these events and their relation to broader political trends. * Gary C. Jacobson, University of California, San Diego * To understand political change in the U.S., one of the best things to do is strip away the influence of incumbency and get out of the political calendar to see what happens between peak campaign season. In Special Elections, Bullock and Owen capture a distinct period of political disruption in the United States by looking through the ultimate open seat to describe the influences on - and predictive power of - special elections. Whether you are political chic or a data geek, this book is a must-read! * Keith Gaddie, coauthor of Democracy's Meanings: How the Public Understands Democracy and Why It Matters * Although nearly 300 special elections have been used to fill vacancies in the U.S. House during the past 75 years, surprisingly little scholarly attention has been devoted to the subject. Bullock and Owen remedy this oversight by analyzing all special elections since 1945, with particular emphasis on special elections occurring in 2017-18. This insightful new book fills a sizable gap in our understanding of congressional elections by evaluating the politics associated with using the 'backdoor' entrance to Congress. * Jamie L. Carson, University of Georgia, Athens *

Although nearly 300 special elections have been used to fill vacancies in the U.S. House during the past 75 years, surprisingly little scholarly attention has been devoted to the subject. Bullock and Owen remedy this oversight by analyzing all special elections since 1945, with particular emphasis on special elections occurring in 2017-18. This insightful new book fills a sizable gap in our understanding of congressional elections by evaluating the politics associated with using the 'backdoor' entrance to Congress. -- Jamie L. Carson, University of Georgia, Athens To understand political change in the U.S., one of the best things to do is strip away the influence of incumbency and get out of the political calendar to see what happens between peak campaign season. In Special Elections, Bullock and Owen capture a distinct period of political disruption in the United States by looking through the ultimate open seat to describe the influences on DL and predictive power of DL special elections. Whether you are political chic or a data geek, this book is a must-read! -- Keith Gaddie, coauthor of Democracy's Meanings: How the Public Understands Democracy and Why It Matters Special Elections is a welcome addition to the literature on congressional elections. It deftly blends a careful systematic analysis of all post-war special elections for the U.S. House with illuminating studies of recent cases. The result is an engaging and sometimes surprising account of these events and their relation to broader political trends. -- Gary C. Jacobson, University of California, San Diego Finally, two scholars have penned a book-length account of special elections to the U.S. Congress. Bullock and Owen tell us why these contests are important and meticulously document their occurrence since the end of World War II. As many scholars want to know, the authors provide an analysis of the extent to which these contests help us anticipate the dynamics to unfold in the next round of normally scheduled elections. And, given the historic disruption of the Trump Presidency, the authors emphasize what we can learn from the handful of special contests occurring before the 2018 midterms. Thanks to Bullock and Owen, American elections scholars will now have a more thorough and nuanced understanding of special elections and how significant these contests are. -- Seth C. McKee, Oklahoma State University

Author Information

Charles S. Bullock, III, is Distinguished University Professor of Public and International Affairs, the Richard B. Russell Professor of Political Science, and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Georgia. Bullock is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than 30 books and more than 250 articles and book chapters. Among his books are Redistricting: The Most Political Activity in America, Georgia's Three Governors Controversy, and The South and the Transformation of U.S. Politics. He is past president of the Southern Political Science Association. Karen L. Owen is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Thomas B. Murphy Center for Public Service at the University of West Georgia. She is a gender politics and American institutions scholar. Owen is also the author of Women Officeholders and the Role Models who Pioneered the Way as well as numerous articles on congressional elections, state legislative partisanship, and women serving within local levels of government and trial courts.

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