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National Party Efforts to Recruit State Legislators to Run for the U.S. House
Author(s) -
MAESTAS CHERIE D.,
MAISEL L. SANDY,
STONE WALTER J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
legislative studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.728
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1939-9162
pISSN - 0362-9805
DOI - 10.3162/036298005x201554
Subject(s) - legislator , legislature , house of representatives , state (computer science) , public administration , political science , divided government , roll call , politics , business , law , legislation , voting , algorithm , computer science
We explore factors that influence the chances that a state legislator will be the target of national party recruitment to run for the U.S. House. Using data from a sample of legislators in 200 U.S. House districts, we find that national party contact reflects strategic considerations of party interests. State legislators serving in professional institutions and in competitive districts are most likely to be contacted by national party leaders. In addition, the analysis suggests that national party leaders may be sensitive to the potential costs to the state legislative party: legislators in institutions that are closely balanced between the parties are slightly less likely to be contacted.