Unconventional Wisdom: Facts and Myths About American Voters

Karen M. Kaufmann · John R. Petrocik · Daron R. Shaw

qer 2008 · Oxford University Press

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Late deciders go for the challenger; turnout helps the Democrats; the gender gap results from a surge in Democratic preference among women--these and many other myths are standard fare among average citizens, political pundits, and even some academics. But are these conventional wisdoms--familiar to anyone who watches Sunday morning talk shows--really valid? Unconventional Wisdom offers a novel yet highly accessible synthesis of what we know about American voters and elections. It not only provides an integrated overview of the central themes in American politics--parties, polarization, turnout, partisan bias, campaign effects, swing voters, the gender gap, and the youth vote--it upends many of our fundamental preconceptions. Most importantly, it shows that the American electorate is much more stable than we have been led to believe, and that the voting patterns we see today have deep roots in our history. Throughout, the book provides comprehensive information on voting patterns; illuminates (and corrects) popular myths about voters and elections; and details the empirical foundations of conventional wisdoms that many understand poorly or not at all. Written by three experts on American politics, Unconventional Wisdom serves as both a standard reference and a concise overview of the subject. Both informative and witty, the book is likely to become a standard work in the field, essential reading for anyone interested in American politics.

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Karen M. Kaufmann is an Associate Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. She is well-known for her research on the gender gap in political behavior and has published various articles on presidential primaries and political campaign strategies. She is the author of The Urban Voter (2004), and is widely recognized for her research regarding racial and ethnic politics. She has appeared on CNN's Inside Politics. John R. Petrocik is Professor and Chair of Political Science at the University of Missouri. He has authored or coauthored books and research articles on mass attitudes and behavior, political parties, and elections and campaigns. One of the books, The Changing American Voter (Harvard University Press 1976, Revised 1979) received the Woodrow Wilson award in 1977 from the American Political Science Association for the best book on American politics in that year. Daron R. Shaw is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas-Austin. In 2006, he published The Race to 270 (University of Chicago Press) which analyzes the effects of TV advertising and candidate visits on the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. He served as a strategist in the 2000 and 2004 presidential election campaigns and is on the Fox News national decision team.