In this book, Costas Panagopoulos examines patterns of candidate emergence in congressional elections over the past five decades-specifically, the quality of challengers who seek to unseat U.S. House incumbents, as measured by prior political experience. Panagopoulos demonstrates that fewer and fewer experienced challengers have tossed their hats into the ring since the early 1970s. Inexperienced candidates often face electoral challenges that are difficult to overcome. Looking at factors including campaign spending, district-level partisan composition, and institutional reforms such as term limits, Panagopoulos evaluates explanations and consequences for these developments over time. He points to important implications for the study of congressional elections and democracy in the United States, including reforms in recruitment and candidate selection strategies to heighten electoral competition and ultimately, to enhance democratic representation in Congress. For students and scholars of the U.S. Congress and elections, this book addresses public concern about representation as well.

Costas Panagopoulos is Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Northeastern University.

Dedication and Acknowledgments

List of Figures

List of Tables

1 Dynamics of Challenger Quality: Introduction

2 Challenger Quality-Conceptualization and Measurement

3 Explaining Challenger Quality: Hypotheses and Methodology

4 Money and Challenger Quality

5 Candidate Quality and Campaign Communications Strategies

6 Movin' On Up: The Impact of State Legislative Term Limits on Candidate Quality in U.S. House Elections, 1972-2018

7 States of Ambition: Aggregate Challenger Quality in the U.S. States, 1972-2018

8 Explaining the Decline in Challenger Quality, 1972-2018

9 Implications: Challenger Quality, Incumbency Advantage, and Democracy in America

10 Conclusion

References

Appendix