Description
Book SynopsisProvides an ethnographic portrait of two political campaigns, New Jersey Democrat Linda Stender's and that of Democratic Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut, who both ran for Congress in 2008. This title examines how American political operatives use "personalized political communication" to engage with the electorate.
Trade ReviewWinner of the 2014 Doris Graber Award, Political Communication Section of the American Political Science Association "Although running for office by knocking on doors may seem quant and old-fashioned, this book asserts the continued importance of personal campaign contact despite the existence of mass media and social networking. Based on extensive participant observation in two competitive Democratic House races, Nielsen not only provides very extensive personal stories from the campaign trail but also discovers interesting patters and attempts to link them to social science theory."--Choice "The beauty of Nielsen's book is that he takes you inside the ground wars, into the mundane world of the political junkies and hangers-on who want to be close to the main action, even if the action involves a county election."--William D. Crano, PsycCritiques
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Prologue: Welcome to the Campaigns 1 Chapter 1: Personalized Political Communication in American Campaigns 4 Chapter 2: The Ground War Enters the Twenty-first Century 35 Chapter 3: Contacting Voters at Home 63 Chapter 4: Organizing Campaign Assemblages 95 Chapter 5: Targeting Voters for Personal Contacts 133 Chapter 6: Always Fighting the Same Ground War? 171 Research Appendix 189 Notes 209 References 221 Index 235
