Who Runs for the Legislature?

All over America, people complain about politicians. And all over America, politicians run for re-election unopposed. The three authors of this book--political scientists long interested in state legislatures--attempt to resolve this paradox by focusing on both the long-term factors leading to unopposed candidates and interviews with candidates running for the legislature as non-incumbents. 90% of incumbent legislators running for re-election win, the authors say. 1/3 of legislative seats in the U.S. are filled without opposition. Therefore, in a the formal sense of accountability being due impending contested elections, many incumbent legislators are not accountable to the public. The authors do not discuss informal but powerful means of accountability such as legislator/constituent and legislator/party contacts or media coverage or interest group pressures in any significant detail. As a long-term legislator running for re-election unopposed in a general election for the third time out of 18 successful candidacies, I am fascinated by the issues involved in this paradox. But I know what the answer is in many cases, including my own. Incumbents who run unopposed tend be hard workers. Yesterday--on a Saturday in August, for instance--I kept up with the news in newspapers and online, met with a constituent complaining about her low level of Social Security Disability income and committed my office to help her and her sister who has a similar problem, gave a newspaper interview after initially answering the reporter's questions by email, had discussions with two local business owners and a community leader, wrote a blog entry on my efforts at the National Conference of State Legislatures on behalf of internet network neutrality, and responded to one of the blog commenters. The work I do does not have the physical danger of being a policeman or a construction worker or a soldier in wartime, the level of economic sacrifice of being a social worker, the stress of being a small business person competing with Walmart, or the economic risks of being a daytrader. Nevertheless, it is real work leading to real achievements in the public interest. Directly on the point the authors raise, it is work that defends me from the accusations of a prospective challenger that I am not doing anything. My last general election challenger got 20% of the vote; my last on ballot primary challenger got 13% of the vote; my only write-in primary challenger got 5% of the vote. I discuss my record in some detail because my victory percentages are typical of the point the authors make: opposition candidates often do not want to run races that they cannot win. The political term for such candidates who carefully weigh the odds before proceeding is strategic candidates. The authors conclude that, at least in their sample, women were more likely to be cautious strategic candidates than men, but many, many men are in the cautious strategic candidate category too. Th

This book presents research on what types of people run for election to state legislative positions. It is the result of interviews of legislative party leaders in half the states, surveys of legislative candidates in eight states, and personal interviews of candidates in three sates. A primary observation of this book is that, in recent years, fewer people seek election to state legislatures. This is interesting, as state legislatures have gained greater importance. State legislatures have been gaining increased power over budgets and overseeing government operations. While state legislators have gained power, the position attracts fewer candidates. It appears challengers shy away from running against these increasingly powerful incumbent legislators. It is usually difficult to defeat an incumbent legislator. It is costly in terms of time and finance to run campaigns. Further, winning often is not enough incentive to run. People usually find more financial reward, job security, and potential occupational upward mobility in other careers. It is becoming more difficult to find people to risk their carrers to enter politics. The authors find there has been increased activity towards social and political activism. There has been decreased participation in any type of structured activities, from being politically active, going to church, and even joining bowling leagues. So, who does run? Just over half (52.1% according to the authors) of legislative candidates have no children at home. Most candidates are male and Caucasian. The largest source of candidates is those recruited by political party officials. This is a fascinating study into an area seldom examined. It is dismaying that the public has fewer choices in voting for state legisaltive seats at times when the position's importance is increasing. The book shows how a lack of media attention on legislative races means the public is receiving less information to make choices even when choices of candidates are presented. This book makes solid observations based on empirical evidence. It is an excellent study.

This book is primarily a study of who runs for state legislative seats, and how the mix of persons has changed recently. In this, it is more of an academic study than a "how-to" guide. However, there are some practical parts that would be of interest to those considering a race. Throughout the book are ten "candidate vignettes" that show the difficulties and situations faced by real candidates.In the latter part of the book, there is a section dealing with the candidate and their campaign that also offers some practical comments (primary one: most first time candidates underestimate the work involved in running for office. Very true.).Overall this is interesting, though perhaps mostly to those involved in the process or political science types.