Candidates and Voters
Ideology, Valence, and Representation in U.S Elections

Candidates and Voters extends our understanding of vote choice and representation, showing empirically that elections work better than is normally assumed.

Walter J. Stone (Author)

9781316649602, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 July 2017

304 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.35 kg

'In this thorough yet concise treatment, Stone takes a layered approach to understanding the connection between the policy positions and personal attributes of candidates and the decisions voters make. … Candidates and Voters is essential reading for scholars focused on spatial models of electoral competition, but there is also a broader audience that should heed the findings. Stone establishes that policy and valence have a significant and independent effect on American elections. Thus, scholars who are focused on trying to explain the causes and consequences of partisan polarization in U.S. politics cannot ignore these factors and focus only on national partisan politics.' Michael J. Ensley, Perspectives on Politics

Candidates and Voters extends our understanding of voting, elections, and representation by elaborating a simple theory of voting choice based on voters' interest in policy and in the suitability of candidates to hold elective office ('leadership valence'). Voters' choices must be understood in the context of the choices between opposing candidates they are offered on these two dimensions. Drawing on extensive analysis of US House races, Stone shows that although voters lack the information that many analysts assume they need to function in a democracy, they are most often able to choose the better candidate on the policy and valence dimensions. In addition, candidates, when they decide whether and how to run, anticipate the interests that drive voters. The book shows that elections tend to produce outcomes on policy and leadership valence consistent with voters' interests, and challenges skeptical views of how well the electoral process works.

1. Introduction
2. Candidates, voting choice and election outcomes
3. Design and data: district informants and the study of congressional elections
4. Polarization in congressional elections since 1952
5. Ideological proximity, valence, and voter choice
6. Correct voting on proximity and valence
7. Anticipated reactions and challenger entry
8. The proximity and valence rules in district voting
9. District ideological representation
10. Getting it right? Valence and ideology in district representation
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP]