The Invisible Hands of Political Parties in Presidential Elections: Party Activists and Political Aggregation from 2004 to 2012 [Hardcover]

This book looks at networks of individual donors during early stages of presidential primary electons to determine party unity. It directly challenges the commonly-held perception that a "divisive" primary is a problem for the political party in the general election.1. Why Contested Primaries May Not be Divisive Primaries 2. Refining (and Redefining) the Party 3. Multiple Donors and the Party as a Network 4. Multiple Donor Networks Begin to Shed Light on the Nomination Process; The 2004 Democratic Nomination Process 5. A Tale of Two Networks: The 2008 Nomination Process 6. A "Not-Romney" Explanation: The 2012 Republican Nomination Process 7. Multiple Donors and Their Place in the Partisan Universe

Invisible Hands challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the effects that the nomination season has on a party's chances in the fall campaign in presidential elections. Dowdle and his colleagues combine a fresh approach, a wealth of unique data and sophisticated analysis to show that contested primaries may actually benefit the party and its candidate in the general election. This book is well written, and is a must read for any serious student of presidential campaigns and elections, political parties, and campaign finance. - Jody Baumgartner, Associate Professor, East Carolina University, USA

The authors of this volume look to make a major contribution to our understanding of the potential impact of presidential nomination campaigns - mainly why it is that current measures of divisive primaries fail to predict the performance of the party's candidate in the general election. They address this puzzle in their book and they do so in a well-written, methodical, and creative manner. A solid piece of research for political scientists as well as students of politics. - Audrey Haynes, Associate Professor, University of Georgia, USA

Andrew Dowdle is Associate Professor of Political Science atlã»