Peter W. Wielhouwer

Party Contacting and Political Participation, 1952-90

Although the role of political parties in structuring vote choice has become considerably weaker in the last 30 years, we find that parties continue to be active organizations and contact one-fifth to one-quarter of the electorate, an activity that has important consequences. Specifically, when contacted by the parties, individuals have a greater propensity to vote and to engage in other political activities. We also find that each of the two major parties has the capability of mobilizing the electorate even when it is not the incumbent party. Even when placed alongside a plethora of control variables, these findings hold up. We conclude that citizen contacting is a method by which party organizations effectively reduce the transaction costs associated with political participation and that it is an important and largely neglected element in most analyses of political behavior.

In Search of Lincoln's Perfect List Targeting in Grassroots Campaigns

A key element in winning elections, according to many practitioners, is successfully identifying citizens for targeted campaign communications, and a central tactic for implementing that strategy is through personal-contact campaigning. This article first integrates academic and practitioner perspectives into theoretical arguments about targeted campaigning. Then, using the 1956 to 1998 National Election Studies, the analysis shows that voter registration and age have become increasingly important as criteria for campaign contacts, that contacting rates among urban, sub-urban, and rural areas have equalized, and that campaigns continue to target party regulars, people predisposed to vote, and those who are more socially and economically integrated into their communities. The analysis also compares major party grassroots strategies and their changes over time. The results suggest that recent patterns in personal-contact campaigning may no longer exacerbate American participatory inequalities to the degree found in earlier periods.

The Mobilization of Campaign Activists By the Party Canvass

This research examines the role of the personal contacting activities of the political parties as mobilizing forces in what Verba and Nie termed campaign activities. A reformulated rational choice model is discussed in which parties seek to reduce certain avoidable and unavoidable costs associated with political participation. Using data from the 1952 through 1994 American National Election Studies, it is shown that the party contact has been and continues to be a major factor in mobilizing campaign activists. Its influence is remarkably robust, maintaining statistical and substantive significance even after controlling for other important factors usually associated with political behavior.

Republicans and the Black Vote and Race, Republicans, and the Return of the Party of Lincoln

Republicans and the Black Vote. By Michael K. Fauntroy. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2007. 180p.

Releasing the Fetters: Parties and the Mobilization of the African-American Electorate

49.95. Race, Republicans, and the Return of the Party of Lincoln. By Tasha S. Philpot. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007. 211p.

Polls and Elections The Ground War 2000‐2004: Strategic Targeting in Grassroots Campaigns

65.00 cloth,

The Impact of Church Activities and Socialization on African-American Religious Commitment

22.95 paper. These two books examine important themes in one of the more dynamic aspects of American party coalitions: the complex relationship between African Americans and the Republican Party. Michael Fauntroy examines broadly the relationships ebb and flow, emphasizing the policy, political, and rhetorical elements of the partys conflicted orientations toward the black electorate. Tasha Philpot develops a general theory of changes in party images, testing it in light of recent GOP efforts to appear more racially diverse.