Author Description

This book studies the election of American state governors - an increasingly important group of political leaders - and makes comparisons with Senate and presidential elections. The chapters find many differences between gubernatorial and Senate elections but notable parallels between gubernatorial and presidential elections. The book concludes that gubernatorial elections are best understood as executive, not legislative, elections. The book also helps to better understand a variety of fundamental electoral topics that have been studied largely in the congressional context - such as the role of campaign expenditures, economic and social conditions, candidate background, and third party and independent candidates.