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Electoral Competition in the American States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Thomas M. Holbrook  and
Emily Van Dunk
Thomas M. Holbrook
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Emily Van Dunk
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
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Abstract

Electoral competition is a concept that has played a central role in much of the state politics literature. One commonly used indicator of competition in the states is the Ranney index. We offer an alternative indicator of competition, one based on district-level outcomes of state legislative elections. After evaluating both indicators in terms of validity and reliability, the analysis suggests that the district-level indicator is both empirically and intuitively superior as a measure of electoral competition. The implications of this finding are discussed.

Type
Research Notes
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 87 , Issue 4 , December 1993 , pp. 955 - 962
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1993

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