Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics

Brimming with data and examples from the 2008 and 2012 elections, and laced with previews of 2016, the fourteenth edition of this popular text offers a complete overview of the presidential election process from the earliest straw polls and fundraisers to final voter turnout and exit interviews. The comprehensive coverage includes campaign strategy, the sequence of electoral events, and the issues, all from the perspective of the various actors in the election process: voters, interest groups, political parties, the media, and the candidates themselves.

Revised to give students the most up-to-date understanding of the electoral process, the fourteenth edition of Presidential Elections * provides complete coverage of the 2012 election and presidential selection process changes for 2016; *offers a greater focus on 21st Century elections and increasing party polarization; *explains the new 2016 campaign finance rules and their implications; *explores the increasing demographic diversity of the presidential electorate and its possible 2016 impacts; *includes insight on the evolution and impact of new microtargeting campaign technologies; and *presents a revised and updated analysis of possible reforms of the presidential election process.