SAGE Journal Articles

Article 1: Abbe, O. G., Goodliffe, J., Herrnson, P. S., & Patterson, K. D. (2003). Agenda setting in congressional elections: The impact of issues and campaigns on voting behavior. Political Research Quarterly, 56, 419–430.

This article extends recent research on issue voting and campaign agenda setting to voting decisions in congressional elections. Using a unique data set from 1998, the authors study the impact of campaign-specific variables on citizens voting decisions, while controlling for relevant attitudinal and demographic factors. The findings show that when a candidate and voter agree on what is the most important issue in the election, the voter is more likely to vote for that candidate if that candidate’s party “owns” the issue.

Questions to Consider:

  1. What conditions are necessary for issue voting?
  2. What theories link voting behaviors and issues?
  3. What is the importance of an agenda in a campaign?

Learning objective: Identify four factors that influence voters decisions; Analyze the reasons why Americans vote or don’t vote

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Article 2: Schill, D., & Kirk, R. (2013). Courting the swing voter: “Real Time” insights into the 2008 and 2012 U.S. presidential debates. American Behavioral Scientist, 58, 536–555.

This article reports the findings of an analysis of undecided swing state voters during the presidential debates of the 2008 and 2012 elections. The authors found that presidential debates are in fact capable of influencing undecided voters’ impressions of the candidates.

Questions to Consider:

  1. What are the characteristics of an undecided voter?
  2. What is the traditional campaign model and how do swing voters fit into that model?
  3. What are the limitations to the authors’ study?

Learning objective: Analyze the reasons why Americans vote or don’t vote; Identify four factors that influence voters decisions; Describe the organizational and strategic tactics involved in presidential campaigns

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Article 3: Osborn, T. (2014). Women state legislators and representation: The role of political parties and institutions. State and Local Government Review, 46, 146–155.

This article discusses the research on women legislators in the United States and how that research has made significant progress toward understanding how women legislators affect public policies. The author contributes to the research by examining legislative variations and how they affect policy making.

Questions to Consider:

  1. Do parties matter?
  2. How can leadership help women increase their institutional power?
  3. What challenges for future research were identified by the author?

Learning objective: Describe the role parties play in making government policy; Give examples of ways in which parties serve (or fail to serve) citizens in the American electorate

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Article 4: Nownes, A. J. (2012). An experimental investigation of the effects of celebrity support for political parties in the United States. American Politics Research, 40, 476–500.

In this article, the author discusses the effects of celebrity support for political parties in the U.S. Using results from a pretest-posttest control group experiment, the author finds that celebrity political activity is more likely to influence citizens’ views of political parties than it is to affect either citizens’ vote choices or views of individual candidates.

Questions to Consider:

  1. Do you believe celebrities matter? Are celebrity endorsements significant for candidates?
  2. Identify the author’s hypotheses. What methodology is used to test these hypotheses?
  3. How does meaning transfer theory affect party identification?

Learning objective: Explain how parties connect citizens and government; Describe the role parties play in making government policy