Reforming Primary Elections : Voters, Campaigns, and the Future of Congressional Politics / edited by Robert G. Boatright, Richard Barton.

Senators Tom Daschle and Trent Lott.

Preface.

Robert Boatright and Richard Barton.

Chapter 1. Introduction.

Part I. Contemporary Primary Elections.

Richard Barton and Carlo Macomber.

Chapter 2. How Distinct are Primary Voters? Insights from the 2024 Primary Election Survey.

Zachary Albert and Raymond La Raja.

Chapter 3. Who Votes in Primaries and What Are Their Attitudes Toward Compromise?

Caitlin E. Jewitt and Sarah Treul.

Chapter 4. The Influence of Presidential Primary Elections on Congressional Primary Turnout.

Mike Cowburn and Marius Sältzer.

Chapter 5. Candidate Characteristics in Primary Elections: An Analysis of U.S. House Candidates in 2024.

Hayley M. Cohen.

Chapter 6. Running Scared in the Primary: Campaign Behavior of Safe Incumbents in a Partisan Era.

Part II. The Effects of Primary Reform.

Glenn Wright, Benjamin Reilly, and David Lublin.

Chapter 7. Electoral Reform and Political Polarization: The Case of Alaska.

Ryan D. Williamson and Ceili Fallon.

Chapter 8. Re-evaluating the Effects of the Top Four System in Alaska.

Jeremy Gelman, Evan Pritsos, and Benjamin Reilly.

Chapter 9. The Consequences of a Top-5/RCV System in Nevada: Advantaging Moderates but Sidelining Third Parties?

Jesse M. Crosson.

Chapter 10. An Affirmative Case for the Top-2 Primary.

Part III. Future Directions and Alternative Reforms.

Hans Noel.

Chapter 11. Politics is a Team Sport: Electoral Reform and Political Parties.

Michael J. Ritter and Caroline J. Tolbert.

Chapter 12. The Effects of Mail Voting, County Election Administration, and Accessible Primary Rules on Midterm Primary Voter Turnout.

Deb Otis and Rachel Hutchinson.

Chapter 13. Optimizing Nonpartisan Primaries with Ranked Choice Voting and Proportional Representation.

Derek Monson.

Chapter 14. A Constitutional Perspective on American Elections.

Edward B. Foley.

Chapter 15. Holding a Round-robin Tournament Among All the Candidates: Optimizing Round One of a Two-round Electoral System.

Robert G. Boatright and Caroline J. Tolbert.

Chapter 16. What Would a National Primary Day Look Like, and How Would we Get There?

The American system of partisan primary elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate is often blamed for contributing to political polarization and conflict in Congress. These concerns have increased in recent decades, as both parties have at times failed to nominate candidates who would have broad general election appeal. This book considers how primary elections have changed over the past decade and why they so often yield extreme or unpopular candidates. It provides detailed studies of how representative primary voters are of the population and how primary candidates plan their campaigns. The book uses this information to determine how reforms such as nonpartisan primaries might affect primary electorates, candidates, and legislators. Collectively, the chapters in this book show that reform of primary election laws could improve the quality of American elections, but we are far from consensus about which reforms would be best or what the effects of existing reform proposals has been. This is the most comprehensive study of contemporary primaries, featuring many of the leading scholars on parties and elections in the United States.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.