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book: Strategic Decision-Making in Presidential Nominations
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Strategic Decision-Making in Presidential Nominations

When and Why Party Elites Decide to Support a Candidate
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2013

About this book

Seeks to understand and explain the behavior of party elites during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential race.

What is the dominant force in presidential nomination campaigns? Are nomination outcomes decided largely by the political party or by the candidates and their activities? In Strategic Decision-Making in Presidential Nominations, Kenny J. Whitby aims to provide some answers to these important questions, focusing on the closely contested 2008 race between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It was this race that spotlighted the role played by "superdelegates," the unpledged party elites who were added to the nomination process in the 1980s. Whitby's central argument is that superdelegates are strategic actors and their endorsements are a response to a variety of demographic, institutional, and campaign factors. While some weigh in early with an endorsement, many adopt a wait-and-see approach. Using a novel framework generally known as survival analysis, Whitby provides us with a method for understanding when and why party elites decide to chime in on their presidential nomination campaign.

Author / Editor information

Contributor: Kenny J. Whitby Kenny J. Whitby is Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina and the author of The Color of Representation: Congressional Behavior and Black Interests.

Topics

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    Front Matter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    Illustrations

    vii
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    Acknowledgments

    xi
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    Introduction

    1
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    Historical Context of Superdelegates

    19
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    Superdelegates in the Presidential Nomination Process

    33
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    The Invisible Primary

    53
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    The Primary Season

    91
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    The Politics of Attrition

    125
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    Conclusions and Implications

    145
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    Appendix A

    157
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    Appendix B

    159
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    Appendix C

    161
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    Notes

    163
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    Bibliography

    183
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    Index

    197
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
March 19, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781438449210
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
218
Tables:
19
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781438449210
eBook ISBN: 9781438449210
Keywords for this book
Politics and Law : Electoral Politics; Politics and Law : Political Parties; Politics and Law : Political Science
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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