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Strategic Candidate Decisionmaking and Competition in Gubernatorial Nonincumbent-Party Primaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Insun Kang ,
Richard G. Niemi  and
Lynda W. Powell
Insun Kang
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
Richard G. Niemi
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
Lynda W. Powell
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
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Abstract

In contrast to research on congressional and state legislative elections, strategic entry into gubernatorial contests has been largely unexplored. We examine the influence of incumbency, gubernatorial popularity, and other factors on candidate strategic decisions and the resulting level of competition in nonincumbent-party gubernatorial primaries between 1974 and 2000. We find that incumbency and gubernatorial popularity interact in their effect, with popular incumbents discouraging competition and unpopular incumbents encouraging it. The size of the potential candidate pool, the condition of the state economy, state partisanship, and state party endorsement practices also influence competition.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , Winter 2003 , pp. 353 - 366
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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