Midterms and Mandates
Electoral Reassessment of Presidents and Parties
Published on 31. May 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-4744-7819-9 (ISBN)
Description
Midterm elections have forced presidents to adjust course and have heralded the rise or fall of new party coalitions, yet they remain understudied in comparison to their presidential counterparts. This book offers a fresh perspective on the American presidency by analysing the significance of midterm elections in the United States. Midterms not only provide an important opportunity for voters to evaluate the record of a president so far, but also have consequences for an administration's pursuit of the president's agenda over the two years that follow. As the essays in this collection show, midterms modify in crucial ways the mandate that a president gained at the time of their election to the White House. The volume integrates contributions from political scientists and historians to create a truly multidisciplinary understanding of the interplay between midterm elections and the American presidency.
Reviews / Votes
Political scientists in the United States who study American politics are familiar with the theory of surge and decline. [...] The editors of Midterms and Mandates bring that analysis closer to ground level. -- J. Twombly * CHOICE * Mid-term elections are one of many features of U.S. political democracy that make it hard for elected officials to evade the enervating politics of the 'permanent campaign'. In this sprightly collection of essays, an able group of historians and political scientists show that as well as diminishing presidential authority (their most familiar effect) mid-term elections have frequently exposed deeper and more important currents of political continuity and change. * Gareth Davies, University College London * [...] by diving mindfully into past midterms, the analyses and case studies offered by Midterms and Mandates give us a clear roadmap for how to consider midterms of the future. -- Charles Hunt * Party Politics *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
10 black and white tables
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
481 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-7819-9 (9781474478199)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Mark McLay is Lecturer in American History at the University of Glasgow. He contributed to Constructing Presidential Legacy (Edinburgh University Press, 2018) and published articles in Journal of Political History and Historical Journal.
Content
Preface: Why Midterms Matter - Julia R. Azari
Introduction: Midterms and Mandates, Presidents and Parties - Patrick Andelic, Mark McLay & Robert Mason
Part I: Midterm Elections in Institutional Context
1. Presidents and Midterm Loss - Andrew Rudalevige
2. From Election to Re-election: The Electoral Politics of Presidency and Party, 1960-2012 - Sarah Tiplady
3. Accountability Regimes, Partisanship, and Midterm Mandates: Midterms in Contemporary America - Nadia Hilliard
Part II: Testing the New Deal Coalition
4. Swing Time: The New Deal Midterms of 1934 and 1938 - Iwan Morgan
5. The Domestic Politics of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the 1942 Midterm Elections - Andrew Johnstone
6. Midterm Elections, the Republican Party, and the Challenge to New Deal Liberalism, 1946-1958 - Robert Mason
7. 'Peace Need Not Be Poison at the Polls': John F. Kennedy and the Challenge of the Right in the 1962 Midterms - Mark Eastwood
Part III: The Republican Resurgence
8. War on Poverty Stalled, Nixon Recalled: Republican Revival and the 1966 Midterm Elections - Mark McLay
9. 'The Power of Their Votes': Richard Nixon, the Silent Majority, and the 1970 Midterm Elections - Sarah Thelen
10. 'Democrats Dominate': The Democratic Party in Congress and the Midterms of 1974 and 1978 - Patrick Andelic
11. The Favourite Son's Favourites: Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Home State Effect in the Midterm Elections - Richard Johnson
12. The 1986 Midterms: The End of the Reagan Revolution? - Joe Ryan-Hume
Introduction: Midterms and Mandates, Presidents and Parties - Patrick Andelic, Mark McLay & Robert Mason
Part I: Midterm Elections in Institutional Context
1. Presidents and Midterm Loss - Andrew Rudalevige
2. From Election to Re-election: The Electoral Politics of Presidency and Party, 1960-2012 - Sarah Tiplady
3. Accountability Regimes, Partisanship, and Midterm Mandates: Midterms in Contemporary America - Nadia Hilliard
Part II: Testing the New Deal Coalition
4. Swing Time: The New Deal Midterms of 1934 and 1938 - Iwan Morgan
5. The Domestic Politics of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the 1942 Midterm Elections - Andrew Johnstone
6. Midterm Elections, the Republican Party, and the Challenge to New Deal Liberalism, 1946-1958 - Robert Mason
7. 'Peace Need Not Be Poison at the Polls': John F. Kennedy and the Challenge of the Right in the 1962 Midterms - Mark Eastwood
Part III: The Republican Resurgence
8. War on Poverty Stalled, Nixon Recalled: Republican Revival and the 1966 Midterm Elections - Mark McLay
9. 'The Power of Their Votes': Richard Nixon, the Silent Majority, and the 1970 Midterm Elections - Sarah Thelen
10. 'Democrats Dominate': The Democratic Party in Congress and the Midterms of 1974 and 1978 - Patrick Andelic
11. The Favourite Son's Favourites: Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Home State Effect in the Midterm Elections - Richard Johnson
12. The 1986 Midterms: The End of the Reagan Revolution? - Joe Ryan-Hume