Winning Elections in the 21st CenturyWinning Elections in the 21st Century

"A national cochair of the presidential campaign of Barack Obama when few thought he could ever be elected, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky is here to tell you: Yes you can! And the book she recommends for candidates, campaign staff, volunteers, and citizens is Winning Elections in the 21st Century, a handbook for anyone who wants to know how campaigns are run and won today. Written by longtime political veterans, both former elected officials, Winning Elections is steeped in old-fashioned political know-how and savvy about the latest campaign techniques, methods, and strategies using social media, vote analytics, small donor online fundraising, and increasingly sophisticated microtargeting. Using examples from across the United States, the authors discuss the nuts and bolts of state and local races, as well as "best practices" in national elections. A successful campaign, they assert and evidence confirms, merges the new technology with proven techniques from the past, and their book helps candidates, students, and citizens consider all the opportunities and challenges that these tools provide--never losing sight of the critical role that personal contact plays in getting voters to the polls. At the heart of this book is the conviction that we need to win democracy along with elections. Accordingly Simpson and O'Shaughnessy write primarily about campaigns in which the maximum number of citizens participate, as opposed to those determined by a few wealthy individuals and interest groups. People power can prevail with the right candidates, issues, and support--and Winning Elections in the 21st Century shows how"--
"This how-to book on winning elections in the current environment saturated with new forms of communication--written by coauthors who possess both academic training in political science and practical experience gained from being former elected officials--uses examples from presidential and congressional campaigns, but focuses on guidance most applicable to the half million-plus races for local and state government elected offices that occur every six years in the U.S. As such, its greatest utility will be to the candidates and their staff, as well as in the college classrooms that focus on the practices culminating on election days throughout America. In addition to explaining how campaigns are really run, the authors raise fundamental questions about their impact on citizen participation and democracy itself"--