3rd Edition

Campaigning for President 2016 Strategy and Tactics

Edited By Dennis W. Johnson, Lara Brown Copyright 2018
    312 Pages
    by Routledge

    312 Pages
    by Routledge

    Coming out of one of the most contentious elections in history, Dennis Johnson and Lara Brown have assembled an outstanding team of authors to examine one of the fiercest and most closely fought presidential elections of our time. Like the 2008 and 2012 editions of Campaigning for President, the 2016 edition combines the talents and insights of political scientists who specialize in campaigns and elections together with seasoned political professionals who have been involved in previous presidential campaigns. Campaigning for President is the only series on presidential campaigns that features both political scientists and professional consultants.

    This book focuses on the most important questions of this most unusual presidential campaign. What was the appeal of Donald Trump? Has Twitter and social media become the dominant means of communicating? How did fake news, WikiLeaks, and the Russians factor in this election? What happened to the Obama coalition and why couldn’t Hillary Clinton capitalize on it? Hundreds of millions of Super PAC dollars were raised and spent, and much of that was wasted. What happened? Is the wild west of online media the new norm for presidential contests? These and many other questions are answered in the provocative essays by scholars and practitioners.

    The volume also is packed with valuable appendixes: a timeline of the presidential race, biographical sketches of each candidate, a roster of political consultants, the primary and general election results, exit polls, and campaign spending.

    New to the 2016 Edition

    • The 2016 presidential contest brings a completely new set of players, policies, and electoral challenges. Like the 2008 and 2012 editions, the authors probe the strategies and tactics of the candidate campaigns and the outside organizations.
    • The chapters focus on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but also look at the Bernie Sanders insurgency, the collapse of the mainstream Republican candidates, and the dynamics of the general election.
    • Chapters also analyze the changes in campaign finance, new technologies, the role of social media, and how fake news and subterfuge might become the new realities of presidential campaigning.

    Preface

    Chapter 1. The Election of 2016 Dennis W. Johnson

    Part One: The Primaries

    Chapter 2. The Democratic Primaries Lilly J. Goren

    Chapter 3. The Republican Primaries Wayne P. Steger

    Chapter 4. Trump’s Appeal Mark S. Mellman

    Part Two: Money and Communication

    Chapter 5. Presidential Candidate Fundraising: An Exception to the Rule? Anthony Corrado and Tassin Braverman

    Chapter 6. The Digital Battle Suzanne Zurn

    Chapter 7. Political Advertising in the 2016 Presidential Election Peter Fenn

    Chapter 8. #Campaigns2016: Hashtagged Phrases and the Clinton-Trump Message War Michael Cornfield and Michael D. Cohen

    Chapter 9. The Trump Effect on the Press, the Presidency, Rhetoric, and Democracy Major Garrett

    Part Three: The General Election

    Chapter 10. Outside Voices: Super PACs, Parties, and Other Non-Candidate Actors Stephen K. Medvic

    Chapter 11. Republican Strategy and Tactics During the General Election Katie Packer

    Chapter 12. Democratic Strategy and Tactics During the General Election Maria Cardona

    Chapter 13. The Defining Fault Lines in One of the Darkest Campaigns in Political History Matthew Dallek

    Appendix A. Timeline

    Appendix B. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates

    Appendix C. Campaign Operatives and Consultants

    Appendix D. Primary and Caucus Results

    Appendix E. General Election Results

    Appendix F. Exit Polls

    Appendix G. Campaign Spending by Candidates, Parties, and Major Super PACs

    Biography

    Dennis W. Johnson is Professor Emeritus of Political Management at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. During the 2010-2011 academic year, he was Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. He has served as director of the Masters of Legislative Affairs program, associate dean and interim executive director of the Graduate School of Political Management. He has also been a political consultant, specializing in candidate and opposition research for Democratic senatorial and gubernatorial candidates.

    Lara M. Brown is Associate Professor and Interim Director of the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.

    Praise for Campaigning for President 2016

    Political scientists, journalists, and campaign strategists who want to make sense of the raucous contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton should start with Campaigning for President 2016. The wide range of expert authors assembled in this book examine Trump’s election from all angles, and is an excellent read for the classroom or the war room.

    Michael Burton, Ohio University

    Dennis Johnson and Lara Brown deliver a solid, timely book on what we think happened in the 2016 election. A great mix of academics and practitioners explains clearly what the elites did – and admit their confusion over what the electorate did. An excellent volume for our time.

    Robin A. Kolodny, Temple University

    Johnson and Brown have assembled an all-star team of scholars and practitioners to analyze the historic 2016 election. They provide important insights and analysis that help readers understand one of the greatest political upsets in American history. This book is a must for those who want to examine and understand what went on in the 2016 presidential election.

    David Dulio, Oakland University

    The 2016 campaign unfolded in a manner unlike any presidential election before it. Dennis Johnson and Lara Brown’s new volume expertly merges academic and practitioner perspectives to help readers understand the election cycle from open to close. Beyond looking at the Trump and Clinton campaigns, the writers help readers understand changes in campaign finance, the importance of the Bernie Sanders insurgency, the increasing role of social media, and the impact of fake news on future electoral politics. Analytically driven but immensely readable, Campaigning for President 2016 is a must-read for those wanting to understand how Donald Trump became president and how this election will shape those to come.

    Will Miller, Flagler College; Campus Labs

    Dennis Johnson and Lara Brown’s new book is interesting and well-written. Most importantly, they take the Donald Trump phenomenon into account without only focusing on him. They give readers a good history of presidential elections in general, connecting them well to the 2016 election. It’s a keeper!

    Iva Deutchman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges