The 2014 midterm congressional elections provided a view of the attitude of American voters in the sixth year of Barack Obama's presidency. This book provides insight about the formative aspects of the 2014 campaign season as well as in depth coverage of key races for Congress. The first section has four chapters that cover the substance of topics that impacted this campaign cycle: the popularity and productivity of the 113th Congress, voter suppression laws passed in many states, the role of Super PACs and independent expenditures in the campaigns, and the use of social media by members of Congress running for reelection. Case studies follow the path of ten House and seven Senate races from inception to election postmortem. The chapters are narrative and provide analysis of an array of interesting and diverse contests from throughout the country. The authors provide succinct and highly readable chapters meant to illustrate the distinctive nature of the campaigns they are examining. Individual campaigns and elections are shown "up close" and be ready to compare and contrast because of the common format employed throughout the book. Taken together, the chapters reveal that the roads to Congress, while similar in so many ways, each follow a unique route to Capitol Hill.
Foreword, Congressman Jason Altmire, Member of U.S. House of Representatives (2007-2013) Part I. Setting the Stage Chapter 1. Assessing the 113th Congress and its Members' Roads to Reelection, Sean D. Foreman Chapter 2. Voter Suppression by State Governments after the Shelby County v. Holder (2013) U.S. Supreme Court decision, Daniel E. Smith Chapter 3. Campaign Finance: The Impact of McCutcheon et al. v. FEC in the Wake of Citizens United, William Curtis Ellis Chapter 4. Tweeting to Victory? Social Media Use and Election 2014, Bryan T. Gervais Part II. U.S. House of Representatives Chapter 5. Arizona's 2nd Congressional District (Ron Barber vs. Martha McSally): Beating the Heat in a Highly Anticipated Rematch, Laura Loomer Chapter 6. California's 31st Congressional District (Pete Aguilar v. Paul Chabot): Open Seat in the Golden State, Marcia L. Godwin and Richard Gelm Chapter 7. Colorado's 6th Congressional District (Mike Coffman v. Andrew Romanoff): A Conservative Republican Successfully Adapts to His Changing District, Christina Ladam, Joseph Zamadics, Josh M. Ryan, and Anand Edward Sohkey Chapter 8. Florida's 13th Congressional District (David Jolly v. Alex Sink): The Death of Local Politics, Peter Bergerson and Margaret Banyan Chapter 9. Florida's 26th Congressional District: (Joe Garcia v. Carlos Curbelo): A tossup race in a swing state district mired in controversy, Sean D. Foreman Chapter 10. Illinois' 10th Congressional District (Bob Dold vs. Brad Schneider): The Rematch, Jeffrey Ashley and Jillian McClain Chapter 11. Massachusetts District 6 (Seth Moulton v. Richard Tisei): Inspired to Serve, Chosen to Lead, Joseph P. Caiazzo Chapter 12. New York's 18th Congressional District (Sean Maloney vs. Nan Hayworth): Rematch in the Hudson Valley, Jeffrey Kraus Chapter 13. Ohio's 6th Congressional District (Bill Johnson v. Jennifer Garrison): Obama's Low Numbers Too Much for Dems, William Binning and Melanie Blumberg Chapter 14. Virginia's 7th Congressional District Primary (David Brat v. Eric Cantor and then Jack Trammel): Remember the District and Respect the Opponent, William J. Miller Part III. U.S. Senate Chapter 15. Alaska Senate Race (Mark Begich v. Dan Sullivan): Begich swept out with the Tide, Jerry McBeath, and Carl Shepro Chapter 16. Colorado Senate Race (Cory Gardner v. Mark Udall): A Republican Tide Sinks Udall's Lackluster bid for reelection, Kyle D. McEvilly and William K. Hall Chapter 17. Iowa Senate Race (Joni Ernst v. Bruce Braley): Make 'em Squeal! Republicans Find a Winning Formula in Iowa, Walter Clark Wilson and David Romero Chapter 18. Kentucky Senate Race (Alison Lundergran Grimes v. Mitch McConnell): Insert Name Here (Republican) v. President Barack Obama (Democrat), Joseph Gershtenson Chapter 19. Louisiana Senate Race (Bill Cassidy v. Mary Landrieu): Landrieu (D) v. Cassidy (R) and Maness (R) and Hollis (R) and Obama: The End of an Era in the Deep South, Joshua Stockley Chapter 20. Mississippi Senate Race (Travis Childers v. Thad Cochran): A Senate Veteran Stretched to the Limit in the Primary Pulls through for a Seventh Term, Tom Lansford Chapter 21. Virginia (Mark Warner v. Ed Gillespie): A Surprisingly Close Contest for a Centrist in a Swing State, Douglas M. Brattebo Part IV. Conclusion Chapter 22. The Legacy of the 2014 Elections: Surf's Up! Republicans Riding the Wave, but to Where?, Kimberly L. Casey
