Roads to Congress 2010

Sean D. Foreman is assistant professor of political science at Barry University.Robert Dewhirst is professor of political science at Northwest Missouri State University.

• 1 PrefacePart 2 Part I: IntroductionChapter 3 1. A third "wave" election in a row: The House turns Republican while the Senate stays DemocraticPart 4 Part II: House of Representatives ElectionsChapter 5 2. Florida District 8 Race (Webster v. Grayson): No Magic Kingdom for the IncumbentChapter 6 3. Illinois District 14 Race (Hultgren v. Foster): A National Referendum against the President and IncumbentsChapter 7 4. Illinois District 11 Race (Kinzinger v. Halvorson): A Fresh Incumbent does not survive the TsunamiChapter 8 5. Mississippi District 4 Race (Taylor v. Palazzo): A Conservative Democrat Loses to a More Conservative RepublicanChapter 9 6. New York District 20 Race (Gibson v. Murphy): The Red Tide Returns to the Upper Hudson ValleyChapter 10 7. Ohio District 6 Race (Johnson v. Wilson): Ripe for Independent SpendersChapter 11 8. Virginia District 5 Race (Hurt v. Perriello): A Congressman Falls to a Republican TsunamiPart 12 Part III: U.S. Senate ElectionsChapter 13 9. Alaska Senate Race (McAdams v. Miller v. Murkowski): Alaska's Three-Way Senate Race and Lisa Murkowski's Write-in VictoryChapter 14 10. California Senate Race (Fiorina v. Boxer): The Great Democratic Exception in a Republican YearChapter 15 11. Colorado Senate Race (Bennet v. Buck): Incumbency Success in an Anti-Incumbency YearChapter 16 12. Connecticut Senate Race (McMahon v. Blumenthal): Blumenthal Beats McMahon in a Race that Set State Records for SpendingChapter 17 13. Florida Senate Race (Crist v. Meek v. Rubio): The Rise of Rubio and fall of CristChapter 18 14. Missouri Senate Race (Blunt v. Carnahan): Still a National Bellwether StatePart 19 Part IV: ConclusionChapter 20 15. The Legacy of the 2010 Congressional Elections21 Index22 About the Contributors

With 435 House districts and 50 states, there are many "roads to Congress." This is the latest installment in a series that stretches back at least a decade. Essays in this volume focus on campaigns for House and Senate seats during the 2010 election cycle. Case studies focus on the districts or states, candidates, campaigns, and events that led to the electoral outcome in each case. Seven essays focus on House races and seven on Senate races, geographically dispersed across the US. The underlying assumption of the entire series is that local context matters and congressional campaigns matter, shaping how members of Congress arrive on Capitol Hill. Ironically, the 2010 electoral cycle was largely shaped by the national context: the Obama presidency, the state of the economy, and the Tea Party revolt. This volume is particularly valuable for teaching undergraduate courses that focus on campaigns and elections. The skillfully written case studies will engage students in the hurly-burly world of politics and the factors that shape elections. Practitioners may gain some insight from comparisons among different races, and political junkies will find the book to be a fascinating read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduate students and above.