The 2012 Presidential Election: Forecasts, Outcomes, and Consequences

Though many analyses of the 2012 presidential election have emerged, none can match this collection's depth, diversity, or ability to critically and soundly argue where American politics will go from this point forward. This volume includes some of the most recognized scholars in the field and innovative younger scholars who provide a fresh perspective on the election. It is a diverse and award winning group, including established and respected names in presidency studies, political psychology, and election forecasting.

The contributions address a wide range of subjects, from the accuracy of pre-election forecasts, the effect of the election on relations between Obama and congressional leaders, the effect of race and religion on the outcome, the consequences for the Republican Party, and prospects for leadership in a second term. Rather than a simplistic account of what happened during the campaign, the volume will contribute to our understanding of significant questions about the presidency, voting behavior, political parties, and elections.

Amnon Cavari is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the IDC Herzliya. Amnon specializes in American politics with specific research interests in the presidency, public opinion and political parties, and the interrelationship between them.He also studies American institutional and public support for Israel. His Ph.D. thesis, “The Party Politics of Presidential Rhetoric,” won the George C. Edwards II Award for the best dissertation on the American presidency in 2011.

Richard J. Powell is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine. He is the author of journal articles and book chapters on state politics, presidential-congressional relations, presidential communications, and presidential and congressional elections. He has also published articles on the effects of term limits on the political system and co-authored the books Legislating Without Experience: Case Studies in State Legislative Term Limits and Changing Members: The Maine Legislature in the Era of Term Limits. His current work focuses on White House outreach to Catholics. In 2010 he was a Fulbright Lecturer at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.

Kenneth R. Mayer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He is the author of With the Stroke of a Pen: Executive Orders and Presidential Power (Princeton University Press, 2001), which won the Richard M. Neustadt Award for the best book on the presidency published in 2001. His research focuses on presidential unilateral powers, as well as election administration and campaign finance. In 2006 he was the inaugural Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Political Science at the Australian National University (Canberra, ACT).