Becoming a Candidate

Jennifer L. Lawless is an Associate Professor of Government at American University, where she is also the Director of the Women and Politics Institute. Her research focuses on political ambition, public opinion and women and politics. Her articles have appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Perspectives on Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, The Journal of Politics and Women and Politics. She is the current editor of the journal Politics and Gender. She is also the co-author of It Still Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office (Cambridge University Press, 2005) with Richard L. Fox. She is a recognized speaker on the subject of electoral politics, frequently discussing these issues on national and local television and radio. Her scholarly analysis and political commentary have been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, The New Republic, the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Boston Globe, as well as on the Web sites of CNN, MSNBC and FOX News. In 2006, she sought the Democratic nomination for the US House of Representatives in Rhode Island's second congressional district.

• 1. Mudslinging, money-grubbing, and mayhem: who would ever run for office?; 2. The decision to run for office: the theoretical and methodological approach; 3. Political ambition in the candidate eligibility pool; 4. Barack Obama and 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling: sex, race, and political ambition; 5. You could be president someday! Early socialization, the role of family, and political ambition; 6. On-the-job training: professional circumstances and the decision to run for office; 7. You think I should run for office? Political parties, political recruitment, and political ambition; 8. Biting the bullet: deciding to run for office; 9. Future patterns of candidate emergence and studies of political ambition.

'… Lawless … has masterfully tackled the puzzle of what stimulates ambitions for political office. She challenges us to look beyond the standard explanations that center on the structure of opportunities for political office to consider broader professional, social, and political influences. This is the first study of its kind to separately explore the differences between nascent ambition, the first germ of interest in holding office, and expressive ambition, the actual choice to run for office. The innovative research design allows a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of thousands of men and women holding careers in law, business, education, and politics, careers that serve as common stepping stones to political office. By exploring how their experiences shaped their perceptions of politics and public office, and how these views evolved over time, she enlightens us about the future of political leadership in America.' Cherie Maestas, Florida State University