Candidate-centered politics is a political system in which the focus is on the individual candidates running for office, rather than the parties or ideologies they represent. In this system, the candidates are seen as the primary drivers of the political process, and their personal characteristics, policies, and platforms take center stage. This can be in contrast to a party-centered system, in which political parties are the primary vehicles for political action and the candidates are expected to adhere to the party's platform and ideology.
One of the main advantages of candidate-centered politics is that it allows for a greater diversity of viewpoints and policies to be represented. In a party-centered system, candidates may feel pressure to conform to the party line, even if they disagree with certain aspects of it. This can limit the range of ideas that are presented to the public and stifle debate and discussion. In a candidate-centered system, on the other hand, candidates are free to present their own ideas and policies, allowing for a more diverse range of perspectives to be considered.
Another advantage of candidate-centered politics is that it can encourage greater accountability and transparency in the political process. In a party-centered system, candidates may be more inclined to toe the party line and avoid taking positions that could be seen as controversial or unpopular. This can make it difficult for voters to know where candidates stand on important issues, and can lead to a lack of accountability. In a candidate-centered system, candidates are more likely to be upfront about their positions and policies, which can make it easier for voters to hold them accountable for their actions once they are in office.
However, there are also some potential drawbacks to candidate-centered politics. One concern is that it can lead to a lack of stability and continuity in government. In a party-centered system, political parties often have well-developed platforms and policies that they can implement once they are in power. In a candidate-centered system, on the other hand, the policies and priorities of individual candidates may change from one election to the next, which can make it harder to achieve long-term goals and create lasting change.
Another concern is that candidate-centered politics can be more vulnerable to the influence of special interests and outside groups. Without the party structure to provide support and guidance, candidates may be more reliant on outside funding and support to get elected. This can create a situation where the candidates are more beholden to these groups, rather than to the needs and priorities of the voters.
Overall, candidate-centered politics can offer some advantages, such as a greater diversity of viewpoints and greater accountability and transparency. However, it is important to carefully consider the potential drawbacks, including a lack of stability and the potential for outside influence, to ensure that the system is working in the best interests of the voters.
The Rise of Candidate
Like Wattenberg's Decline of American Political Parties, this work is a clearly presented analysis of findings from survey research. They draft most legislation that is eventually enacted by one of the major parties. Publicly Available Download PDF i Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF v Publicly Available Download PDF vii Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF viii Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF x Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 1 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 13 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 31 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 47 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 66 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 92 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 130 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 156 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 167 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF 179. Wattenberg does a fine job of utilizing diverse data sources to construct a highly plausible argument…The presentation of arguments and data analysis is very skillful; the chapters build upon each other very effectively It is a genuine pleasure to read a book as excellent in all respects as Martin Wattenberg's. .
Partisanship and the dynamics of “candidate centered politics” in American presidential nominations
Our result is robust to partial voter turnout and efficiency differences between public and private schools, but depends critically on the opting-out feature in the current system. In order to characterize the metabolic phenotype of SIGFRKO mice, histologic analysis of fat depots confirmed a smaller average diameter of adipocytes in the SIGFRKO mice compared to controls. They frequently win elections in crucial swing states. The parties are increasingly polarized, with both the Democrats and Republicans becoming equally extreme. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the ideological distribution of members of Congress? Importantly, results hold across a wide range of alternative specifications and robustness analyses.
The calculated respiratory exchange ratio RER was lower in the younger SIGFRKO mice compared to controls. To paraphrase Kerlinger, political liberalism is a manifestation of support for participatory social equality, tolerance of different viewpoints, constructive social change, the rights of minorities, and positive government action to ameliorate social ills. However, policy information does not simply crowd out the effects of candidate background characteristics. Several studies have shown that voters infer personal traits and policy positions from candidate characteristics such as gender, family background and occupation. Moreover, both races were, at least for a period of time, reasonably Study two: candidate traits and the 1988 presidential nomination The nature of the 1988 contest and the data available for analyzing it demanded that we pursue a different measurement and estimation strategy than that discussed in Study one. The exact questionnaires administered in 1988 varied across states, and many states did not hold meaningful nominating contests for both the Democratic and Republican races.
Markus, 1982, Kinder, 1983, Wattenberg, 1993. About a quarter of Democrats call McCain the stronger leader, compared with 12 percent of GOPers who choose Obama on this score. These constraints restricted the availability of suitable data for the current study to the Iowa caucuses. The parties are increasingly polarized, with Democrats moving further to the left than Republicans are moving to the right. They deliberate on the party's choices for presidential and vice presidential nominees. A considerable challenge within the existing literature on the personal vote, including that part which derives from local ties, is disentangling it from the party vote using observational data.
. Here we test which character trait is the more influential in global candidate evaluations and vote choice using observational data from the ANES 1984—2008 and an original experiment conducted on a representative sample of English partisan respondents. The somatotroph insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor knockout SIGFRKO mouse with only a modest increase in serum GH and IGF-1 demonstrates less adipose tissue than controls. We conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications of the results. Furthermore, both GH and insulin growth factor 1 IGF-1 may also play a direct or indirect role in adipose development. However, in most elections, voters do not evaluate candidates absent of any policy information. These changes were accompanied by an increase in lipolytic gene expression in fat depots.
District magnitude, in particular, can operate through the number of candidates running under the same party label and the number of votes required to win re election. . In this paper, I argue that, while competence looms large in the mind of voters, the public cares deeply about moral character e. Under this system, entry into the second round was unrestricted, with the number and identity of candidates determined by elite coordination decisions. Wattenberg explodes the myth that the 'Great Communicator' was especially popular with his fellow countrymen. Across the two studies we find that warmth is more influential than competence, leadership and integrity.
In municipalities where coordination at the district level between rounds resulted in the withdrawal of a candidate with local ties, we document a strong negative effect on both turnout and party support, which highlights the value of the personal vote for mobilization, and the potential trade-offs that confront parties and coalitions in nomination decisions. . They simplify citizens' choices on Election Day. With candidate party identification constant and ideological distinctions muted, nomination voters must look for new heuristics to simplify their decision-making process. Which factor largely accounts for the failure of the U. This book is not only the successor volume to the author's widely used book on American parties, it is also a controversial and thought-provoking commentary on American parties, politics, and representative government.
And on personal and ethical standards, more than one in five partisans are "cross-overs," choosing the other party's standard bearer as the one with higher standards. Using data from the PARTIREP cross-national legislator survey in 15 European democracies, the article demonstrates that district magnitude is a proxy of different processes in closed-list and open-list systems. Instead, policy information can change the valence of background characteristics, turning otherwise disadvantageous characteristics into an electoral advantage. Next, I show that moral character helps explain candidate favorability and perceptions of issue competence. Obama cedes more than a third of Clinton supporters on this question, while McCain surrenders a quarter of conservatives. It contributes significantly to a scholarly understanding of American politics and thus interests readers well beyond the ranks of specialists in the study of voting behavior…The book nicely builds on the findings of Wattenberg's earlier study This is an interesting and well-written book with a definite point of view. Using a survey experiment, we confirm that voters infer both personal traits and policy positions from the background characteristics of a candidate, and we furthermore show that explicit information on policy positions moderates the relationship between background characteristics and candidate evaluations.
Every presidential election since 1964 has been won by the candidate backed by the most united party; yet as party unity has become more important to voting decisions, it has also become increasingly difficult to achieve. Across two studies, I show evidence of five dimensions of moral character that are linked to the public's moral foundations. They hold elections to determine new party leaders. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how the mechanical effects of electoral institutions translate into incentives on the part of legislators to cultivate a personal reputation. In his latest book, Martin Wattenberg offers an in-depth interpretation of the presidential elections of the 1980s, illuminating current theories of political behavior and how they operate in today's candidate-centered politics. This paper explores whether Democratic voters emphasize different traits when evaluating potential party nominees than do Republican voters. .
Wattenberg expands upon the themes of his first book, The Decline of American Political Parties, in which he asserted that more Americans than ever before were taking a 'neutral' stance toward the Democratic and Republican parties. Wattenberg's national survey data debunks the notion of Reagan as the "teflon president;' demonstrating that many negative judgments stuck to Reagan's public image throughout the 1980s, particularly the criticisms of his conservative policies. Despite common belief that the parties are becoming increasingly polarized, there is no evidence to support this theory. They reveal political divides and bring to light new ideas. In political science it is often argued that competence-related traits are most influential, whereas work in social psychology suggests that warmth-related traits are more influential. It is original and, in many areas, path-breaking.
