Election 2014
Why the Republicans Swept the Midterms
Published on 9. March 2015
Book
Hardback
118 pages
978-0-8122-4744-2 (ISBN)
Description
The Republican party overwhelmingly carried the midterm elections of 2014, winning nearly every contested congressional and gubernatorial seat and taking the Senate after eight years of Democratic control. Many have characterized this sweep as a sign of a fundamental political shift toward the GOP. But acclaimed political commentator Ed Kilgore argues that the results of the midterm elections were a predictable outcome that was less an ideological watershed than the culmination of several long-term cyclical and historical trends.
Election 2014 strips down conflicting and biased political narratives to present an accessible account of how and why Republicans triumphed so decisively. Kilgore crunches electoral data and evaluates such structural factors as the economy, presidential approval ratings, and voter turnout patterns. Ultimately, this bracing analysis sheds light on the election's implications for the future direction of American politics.
Election 2014 strips down conflicting and biased political narratives to present an accessible account of how and why Republicans triumphed so decisively. Kilgore crunches electoral data and evaluates such structural factors as the economy, presidential approval ratings, and voter turnout patterns. Ultimately, this bracing analysis sheds light on the election's implications for the future direction of American politics.
Reviews / Votes
"Election 2014 is wise, comprehensive and indispensable-the one book you must read to understand the last midterms of the Obama Era. Ed Kilgore draws on the best data, the shrewdest journalism, and, above all, his own superb instincts and extensive knowledge to create a small masterpiece of electoral analysis. Here's hoping that Kilgore commits to analyzing every future midterm, a species of election that is always overanalyzed but insufficiently understood." (E. J. Dionne, author of Why Americans Hate Politics and Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent) "I don't think any political writer in the country wrote more informatively about the unfolding 2014 election campaigns than Ed Kilgore. Here he takes it all a step further, explaining what happened and why, and telling us what the results mean for 2016 and for governance in the meantime. It's a delightfully smart, comprehensive, and accessible survey." (Michael Tomasky, columnist for The Daily Beast) "Ed Kilgore definitively explains the 2014 midterm elections with characteristic balance, depth and precision." (Jonathan Chait, columnist for New York magazine)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Pennsylvania
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paper over boards
Illustrations
5 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 223 mm
Width: 146 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
301 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8122-4744-2 (9780812247442)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2015
1st Edition
University of Pennsylvania Press
€24.49
Available for download
Person
A longtime policy analyst at the Democratic Leadership Council, Ed Kilgore is the principal writer for the Washington Monthly's "Political Animal" blog.