Spring 2015 Political Science Colloquium Series
Speakers: Dr. Mike Ensley and Odeh Halaseh
“Candidate Positioning and Mobilization in U.S. House Elections”
Date: Thursday March 5, 2015
Time: 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Location: Bowman 313
Abstract
Some spatial models of candidate ideological positioning posit that candidates adopt divergent positions in order to mobilize otherwise apathetic voters. However, the empirical support for this proposition is weak when analyzed using data from U.S. House elections. Using recently collected data on the ideological positions of candidates and a statistical method that simultaneously estimates the effect of candidate positions on vote shares and turnout, this paper investigates whether candidate ideological divergence increases turnout in U.S. House Elections. The statistical method draws on the approaches used to study multicandidate and multiparty elections.