Legislative Politics Paper

PSC 304 Spring 2016 First Assignment Due by 2:20PM on Thursday, March 10 in class AND uploaded on SafeAssign

1. You must select a single recent (last 20 years) case of an incumbent member of Congress who was defeated at the polls. This can be a sitting House member or a sitting senator who ran for reelection but lost, either in the primary or the general election.1 Provide a detailed analysis of why this incumbent lost. Was s/he a bad representative? How so? Was s/he involved in a scandal that resonated with voters? Did s/he suffer from negative coattails (e.g., an unpopular president), a bad economy, etc.? Was his/her opponent a particularly strong opponent, well-funded, with high name recognition? Did s/he lose some critical endorsements back home? Did redistricting hurt him/her? And so on. These are some examples of possible explanations. There are others. A good answer will delve into the details of the election, the district/state, the context in which the campaign was held, and so on. It is also likely that there are multiple reasons why the incumbent lost. It is up to you to provide a convincing explanation (or set of explanations). PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: You may not pick a congressional incumbent from New York State. Instead, you must pick an incumbent from one of the remaining 49 states. 2-3 pages

2. Find one (1) published academic journal article that addresses the question of why some congressional incumbents lose. First, summarize the main findings of the article. Second, explain whether you think the case you discussed above fits the results of the research, or whether it doesn’t fit the results. 1-2 pages

Requirements -You may work with another classmate and turn in one assignment for the team, if you so desire. -The assignment should be about 4-5 pages in length, double-spaced, 12-point font, with one-inch margins all around. -A copy of your paper must be uploaded on SafeAssign (via UBlearns). You will get a grade of “F” unless I get a hard copy and you upload the same version to SafeAssign by the due date and time. -Late assignments will receive a 10-percentage point penalty for each 24-hr period it is late (e.g., 0-24 hr late: 10%; 24-48 hrs late: 20%, and so on). In determining the time that a late assignment was turned in, I will use the time it was uploaded on SafeAssign. -You must cite where appropriate. Failure to cite someone else’s writings may constitute plagiarism. I take plagiarism seriously and will refer any case to the appropriate office on campus for adjudication.

1 Running for reelection means trying to be reelected to the same office held at the time. So, for instance, Senator Hillary Clinton running for president in 2008 would not be considered a case of an incumbent losing reelection. Be sure to pick an appropriate case. If in doubt, send me an email with the name of the incumbent and year and I can verify for you that this is an appropriate case.

-When citing someone else’s work (e.g., the article you picked to answer the second question), please refer to the following document for the appropriate format of the citation: http://www.psci.unt.edu/~pmcollins/APSA%20Citation%20and%20Reference%20Guidel ines.pdf -You must use at least three news articles from reputable sources (e.g,. Roll Call, Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, National Journal, Washington Post, The Hill, Politico, New Your Times, local and state newspapers, CNN, Associated Press). Remember, this is not an exhaustive list of sources, and three is a bare minimum. You should feel free to examine other legitimate news sources as well. -You should also consult sources such as Politics in America, The Almanac of American Politics, and other such sources that present contextual, political, and socioeconomic data on districts and states. -In answering Question 2, you must pick an article published in an academic journal. Examples of academic journals include the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, American Politics Research, Congress and the Presidency. Articles from sources such as, but not limited to, Time Magazine, The Nation, The New Yorker, and so on do not constitute academic sources. If in doubt, email me your article and I can tell you whether it is appropriate for this assignment Some helpful hints -When looking for academic journal articles, use search tools such as Google Scholar and JSTOR. Remember, I want an article published in an academic journal, not a popular press article, or a research paper posted on a website that isn’t published anywhere. -As you read the article, you may encounter some “quantitative” (i.e., statistical) evidence that you do not fully understand. Don’t despair. The text of the article will walk you through the results of the statistical analysis. If numbers aren’t your thing, just focus on the text. If you’re still not sure how to interpret the results, you know where to find me. -You have four weeks to do the assignment. There is therefore no excuse for “not finding an article” or “not finding any information on an incumbent who lost” or some such. Remember, I am here to help you if you need guidance. Don’t wait until the last minute to start the assignment.