The Roads to Congress 2018

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiii

   PDF

2. Congress in Transition

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. The 2018 Midterm Elections and the Changing Congress

      • Sean D. Foreman

      Pages 3-10

   3. Toward a More Inclusive Union? Examining the Increased Diversity of Candidates and Members of Congress

      • Walter Clark Wilson, Marcia L. Godwin

      Pages 11-30

   4. Fear and Loathing on Twitter: Exploring Negative Rhetoric in Tweets During the 2018 Midterm Election

      • Bryan T. Gervais, Heather K. Evans, Annelise Russell

      Pages 31-52

   5. Partisanship in the Trump Era: Situating Contemporary Congressional Parties in Historical Perspective

      • Douglas M. Brattebo

      Pages 53-69

   6. President Trump’s Effect on House Republicans

      • Patrick T. Hickey

      Pages 71-86

3. U.S. House

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 87-87

      PDF

   2. California’s 48th Congressional District: Sunset for Reagan Country

      • Laura J. Brantley, Marcia L. Godwin

      Pages 89-109

   3. Florida’s 26th and 27th Congressional Districts: Two Cuban American Strongholds Support Non-Cuban Democrats for Congress

      • Sean D. Foreman

      Pages 111-136

   4. Michigan’s 11th Congressional District and the Anti-Trump Wave

      • Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson, Lyke Thompson

      Pages 137-154

   5. Minnesota’s 1st and 8th Congressional Districts: Riptide—Two Republicans Prevail Against the Blue Wave

      • Tyler Godines Camarillo, John D. Rackey

      Pages 155-172

   6. New York’s 19th and 22nd Congressional Districts: The Blue Wave Overwhelms the Red Tide

      • Jeffrey Kraus

      Pages 173-194

   7. A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Conor Lamb, the Pennsylvania Wunderkind

      • Melanie J. Blumberg, Michael D. Slaven, William C. Binning

      Pages 195-213

4. U.S. Senate

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 215-215

      PDF

   2. North Dakota Senate Race: A Right Turn

      • Dana Michael Harsell

      Pages 217-232

   3. A Senate Trifecta: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia

      • Michael D. Slaven, Melanie J. Blumberg, William C. Binning

      Pages 233-257

   4. Tennessee Senate Race: Call It What You Want, but Tennessee Is a Red Wall to the South

      • Joshua Stockley

      Pages 259-277

   5. Texas Senate Race: “If You Want to Run in Texas, You Can’t Be a Liberal Man”—Beto O’Rourke Challenges Ted Cruz, and Conventional Wisdom

      • Walter Clark Wilson

      Pages 279-295

5. Roads Ahead

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 297-297

      PDF

While the roads to Congress are often full of potholes, in 2018 many of those roads looked like mine fields. With partisan control of both chambers of Congress up for grabs in the first midterm of the Trump presidency and the theme of potential impeachment looming on both sides, The Roads to Congress 2018 offers inside views of this critical election through expert analysis and case studies of the year’s most high-profile races. Thematic chapters examine the intraparty battles occurring within both the Democratic and Republican parties, the use of social media as part of House and Senate campaigns (including Twitter use by and about President Trump), and the potential impact of an increasingly diverse Congressional candidate pool on the structure and functions of the national legislative branch. Additionally, key case studies written by local experts offer fresh analysis and original insights on a sampling of major campaigns spread across the country, featuring in-depth analysesof contentious U.S. House and Senate campaigns across the nation. This book illuminates the key themes and trends coming out of the 2018 midterm elections to help readers cast off the uncertainty that surrounds our politics, and to understand the dynamics of elections which may either herald the triumph or signal the demise of Trumpism. 

• congressional politics
• midterm elections
• house of representatives
• senate
• party politics
• campaigns
• incumbent
• state election
• voting behavior
• American politics
• American government
• Trump Era
• political contest
• partisan politics
• policy making
• voting
• Legislative politics
• Electoral politics
• Social media
• Representation

• Department of History and Political Science, Barry University, Miami, USA

  Sean D. Foreman

• Department of Public and Health Administration, University of La Verne, La Verne, USA

  Marcia L. Godwin

• Department of Political Science and Geography, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, USA

  Walter Clark Wilson

​Sean D. Foreman is Professor of Political Science at Barry University, USA.

Marcia L. Godwin is Professor of Public Administration at the University of La Verne, USA. 


Walter Clark Wilson is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, USA.

Policies and ethics