Misreporting: Social Scientists, Political Commentators, and the Politics of Presidential Selection
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Elizabeth M. Sawyer
Elizabeth M. Sawyer, Elizabeth is focusing on American politics and has published: Elizabeth Sawyer and Byron Shafer. “Institutional Dynamics and Nominating Processes: The Latest Twists on a Familiar Story, or the Emergence of a Brave New World?” Presidential Studies Quarterly, September 2018.
Byron E. Shafer, research and teaching in American politics, broadly construed. His recent publications are: The Long War Over Party Structure: Policy Responsiveness and Democratic Representation in American Politics, with Regina L. Wagner (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019); and, “The Trump Presidency and the Structure of Modern American Politics,” with Regina L.Wagner, Perspectives on Politics 17(June 2019).
and
Regina L. Wagner
Regina L. Wagner, research interests include political representation, gender and politics, legislative politics, state and local politics, as well as political parties. She specifically focuses on political representation of groups and their interests, democratic intermediaries, and the effect of structural reforms on representational processes and outcomes. Her recent publications include: Invisible Forces: How Contextual Receptiveness to Women Shapes Women’s Representation in the U.S. Congress. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 40(October 2019); Policy Responsiveness and Democratic Representation in American Politics, with Byron E. Shafer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019); and, “The Trump Presidency and the Structure of Modern American Politics,” with Byron E. Shafer, Perspectives on Politics 17(June 2019) .
Abstract
A familiar framework for interpreting the politics of presidential nomination, built on an accumulating body of social science research plus the extended observations of experienced commentators, received remarkably little use in the day-to-day reportage of the Democratic and Republican contests of 2016 and 2020 as they unfolded. So this paper begins by sketching out the factional structure of the modern Democratic and Republican parties, along with the bandwagon dynamic that recurrently resolves their factional disputes. It then applies these foundational interpretive factors to the two most recent pairs of nominating contests. What results are four orthodox and recurrent stories that stand in sharp contrast to media narratives that were all too frequently a mix of incomplete basic understandings plus wildly overemphasized idiosyncrasies.
About the authors
Elizabeth M. Sawyer, Elizabeth is focusing on American politics and has published: Elizabeth Sawyer and Byron Shafer. “Institutional Dynamics and Nominating Processes: The Latest Twists on a Familiar Story, or the Emergence of a Brave New World?” Presidential Studies Quarterly, September 2018.
Byron E. Shafer, research and teaching in American politics, broadly construed. His recent publications are: The Long War Over Party Structure: Policy Responsiveness and Democratic Representation in American Politics, with Regina L. Wagner (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019); and, “The Trump Presidency and the Structure of Modern American Politics,” with Regina L.Wagner, Perspectives on Politics 17(June 2019).
Regina L. Wagner, research interests include political representation, gender and politics, legislative politics, state and local politics, as well as political parties. She specifically focuses on political representation of groups and their interests, democratic intermediaries, and the effect of structural reforms on representational processes and outcomes. Her recent publications include: Invisible Forces: How Contextual Receptiveness to Women Shapes Women’s Representation in the U.S. Congress. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 40(October 2019); Policy Responsiveness and Democratic Representation in American Politics, with Byron E. Shafer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019); and, “The Trump Presidency and the Structure of Modern American Politics,” with Byron E. Shafer, Perspectives on Politics 17(June 2019) .
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The 2020 Election
- Misreporting: Social Scientists, Political Commentators, and the Politics of Presidential Selection
- Spending Fast and Furious: Political Advertising in 2020
- Why Trump Became a ‘Confederate’ President
- Háblame de tí: Latino mobilization, group dynamics and issue prioritization in the 2020 Election
- Marching to the Ballot Box: Sex and Voting in the 2020 Election Cycle
- Religion and the 2020 Presidential Election: The Enduring Divide
- The Rural-Urban Continuum of Polarization: Understanding the Geography of the 2018 Midterms
- You’re Fired! Donald Trump and the 2020 Congressional Elections
- Book Review
- Boris Heersink and Jeffrey A. Jenkins: Republican Party Politics and The American South 1865–1968
- Review
- Learning From Loss: The Democrats 2016–2020
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The 2020 Election
- Misreporting: Social Scientists, Political Commentators, and the Politics of Presidential Selection
- Spending Fast and Furious: Political Advertising in 2020
- Why Trump Became a ‘Confederate’ President
- Háblame de tí: Latino mobilization, group dynamics and issue prioritization in the 2020 Election
- Marching to the Ballot Box: Sex and Voting in the 2020 Election Cycle
- Religion and the 2020 Presidential Election: The Enduring Divide
- The Rural-Urban Continuum of Polarization: Understanding the Geography of the 2018 Midterms
- You’re Fired! Donald Trump and the 2020 Congressional Elections
- Book Review
- Boris Heersink and Jeffrey A. Jenkins: Republican Party Politics and The American South 1865–1968
- Review
- Learning From Loss: The Democrats 2016–2020
