Strategic Behavior in State Multimember Districts
Does Fielding One Candidate offer a Notable Advantage
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6301181 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Julia Marin Hellwege (0000-0001-9082-828X, University of South Dakota, corresponding author), Ed Gerrish (0000-0002-7210-5691, University of South Dakota) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 677-708 |
| Publication date | 2022-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Legislative Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-9805 • E-ISSN: 1939-9162 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/lsq.12363 |
| OpenAlex | W3214286094 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 16 |
In several U.S. states, legislative districts for the lower chamber are structured as multi‐member districts (MMD) electing two or more individuals. Ten states use MMDs, the most common form is a district that elects two candidates (employed in AZ, ND, NJ, SD). Sometimes, parties in these states field only one strong candidate in districts where they have a registration disadvantage, believing this “single shot” strategy improves the election odds. Our research casts doubt on this tactic. It finds that lone Democrats in a pooled sample of three states see a noted disadvantage by widening the electoral gap by 3.3 percentage points on average, meaning that parties are better off running two candidates regardless of their relative quality. However, this effect varies within states. Republicans do not experience a disadvantage, though fewer Democratic‐leaning states employ this election method. This research has practical implications for party strategy in MMD states
Democracy · Disadvantage · Legislature · Logistic regression · Meaning (existential · Odds · Political science · Politics · Sample (material · State (computer science · Statistics · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Psychology · Public Administration
Making Votes Count
Political Parties
The Incumbency Advantage in Multimember Districts
The Roles of Party Organizations, Party-Connected Committees, and Party Allies in Elections
Campaign War Chests and Challenger Emergence in State Legislative Elections
Candidacies and Competitiveness in Multimember Districts
Money and Votes in State Legislative Elections
Southern Primary and Electoral Competition and Incumbent Success
The Impact of District Magnitude on Campaign Fundraising
Candidates, Campaigns, or Partisan Conditions? Reevaluating Strategic‐Politicians Theory
On the Absence of Centripetal Incentives in Double-Member Districts
Using Multimember District Elections to Estimate the Sources of the Incumbency Advantage
Legislative Constituencies
A New Look at the Constituencies
Compared Values of the Single- and the Multi-Member Legislative District
Game Theory and Cumulative Voting in Illinois
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |