Roads to Congress 2014

Sean D. Foreman is associate professor of political science at Barry University and serves on the executive board of the Florida Political Science Association.Robert Dewhirst is professor of political science at Northwest Missouri State University and serves on the executive board of the National Social Science Association.

The 2014 midterm congressional elections provided a view of the attitude of American voters in the sixth year of Barack Obama's presidency. This book provides insight about the formative aspects of the 2014 campaign season as well as in depth coverage of key races for Congress. The first section has four chapters that cover the substance of topics that impacted this campaign cycle: the popularity and productivity of the 113th Congress, voter suppression laws passed in many states, the role of Super PACs and independent expenditures in the campaigns, and the use of social media by members of Congress running for reelection. Case studies follow the path of ten House and seven Senate races from inception to election postmortem. The chapters are narrative and provide analysis of an array of interesting and diverse contests from throughout the country. The authors provide succinct and highly readable chapters meant to illustrate the distinctive nature of the campaigns they are examining. Individual campaigns and elections are shown "up close" and be ready to compare and contrast because of the common format employed throughout the book. Taken together, the chapters reveal that the roads to Congress, while similar in so many ways, each follow a unique route to Capitol Hill.

Foreword, Congressman Jason Altmire, Member of U.S. House of Representatives (2007-2013)Part I. Setting the StageChapter 1. Assessing the 113th Congress and its Members' Roads to Reelection, Sean D. ForemanChapter 2. Voter Suppression by State Governments after the Shelby County v. Holder (2013) U.S. Supreme Court decision, Daniel E. SmithChapter 3. Campaign Finance: The Impact of McCutcheon et al. v. FEC in the Wake of Citizens United, William Curtis EllisChapter 4. Tweeting to Victory? Social Media Use and Election 2014, Bryan T. GervaisPart II. U.S. House of RepresentativesChapter 5. Arizona's 2nd Congressional District (Ron Barber vs. Martha McSally): Beating the Heat in a Highly Anticipated Rematch, Laura LoomerChapter 6. California's 31st Congressional District (Pete Aguilar v. Paul Chabot): Open Seat in the Golden State, Marcia L. Godwin and Richard GelmChapter 7. Colorado's 6th Congressional District (Mike Coffman v. Andrew Romanoff): A Conservative Republican Successfully Adapts to His Changing District, Christina Ladam, Joseph Zamadics, Josh M. Ryan, and Anand Edward SohkeyChapter 8. Florida's 13th Congressional District (David Jolly v. Alex Sink): The Death of Local Politics, Peter Bergerson and Margaret BanyanChapter 9. Florida's 26th Congressional District: (Joe Garcia v. Carlos Curbelo): A tossup race in a swing state district mired in controversy, Sean D. ForemanChapter 10. Illinois' 10th Congressional District (Bob Dold vs. Brad Schneider): The Rematch, Jeffrey Ashley and Jillian McClainChapter 11. Massachusetts District 6 (Seth Moulton v. Richard Tisei): Inspired to Serve, Chosen to Lead, Joseph P. CaiazzoChapter 12. New York's 18th Congressional District (Sean Maloney vs. Nan Hayworth): Rematch in the Hudson Valley, Jeffrey KrausChapter 13. Ohio's 6th Congressional District (Bill Johnson v. Jennifer Garrison): Obama's Low Numbers Too Much for Dems, William Binning and Melanie BlumbergChapter 14. Virginia's 7th Congressional District Primary (David Brat v. Eric Cantor and then Jack Trammel): Remember the District and Respect the Opponent, William J. MillerPart III. U.S. SenateChapter 15. Alaska Senate Race (Mark Begich v. Dan Sullivan): Begich swept out with the Tide, Jerry McBeath, and Carl SheproChapter 16. Colorado Senate Race (Cory Gardner v. Mark Udall): A Republican Tide Sinks Udall's Lackluster bid for reelection, Kyle D. McEvilly and William K. HallChapter 17. Iowa Senate Race (Joni Ernst v. Bruce Braley): Make 'em Squeal! Republicans Find a Winning Formula in Iowa, Walter Clark Wilson and David RomeroChapter 18. Kentucky Senate Race (Alison Lundergran Grimes v. Mitch McConnell): Insert Name Here (Republican) v. President Barack Obama (Democrat), Joseph GershtensonChapter 19. Louisiana Senate Race (Bill Cassidy v. Mary Landrieu): Landrieu (D) v. Cassidy (R) and Maness (R) and Hollis (R) and Obama: The End of an Era in the Deep South, Joshua StockleyChapter 20. Mississippi Senate Race (Travis Childers v. Thad Cochran): A Senate Veteran Stretched to the Limit in the Primary Pulls through for a Seventh Term, Tom LansfordChapter 21. Virginia (Mark Warner v. Ed Gillespie): A Surprisingly Close Contest for a Centrist in a Swing State, Douglas M. BratteboPart IV. ConclusionChapter 22. The Legacy of the 2014 Elections: Surf's Up! Republicans Riding the Wave, but to Where?, Kimberly L. Casey