Special Elections

Charles S. Bullock, III, is Distinguished University Professor of Public and International Affairs, the Richard B. Russell Professor of Political Science, and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Georgia. Bullock is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than 30 books and more than 250 articles and book chapters. Among his books are Redistricting: The Most Political Activity in America, Georgia's Three Governors Controversy, and The South and the Transformation of U.S. Politics. He is past president of the Southern Political Science Association. Karen L. Owen is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Thomas B. Murphy Center for Public Service at the University of West Georgia. She is a gender politics and American institutions scholar. Owen is also the author of Women Officeholders and the Role Models who Pioneered the Way as well as numerous articles on congressional elections, state legislativepartisanship, and women serving within local levels of government and trial courts.

Although nearly 300 special elections have been used to fill vacancies in the U.S. House during the past 75 years, surprisingly little scholarly attention has been devoted to the subject. Bullock and Owen remedy this oversight by analyzing all special elections since 1945, with particular emphasis on special elections occurring in 2017-18. This insightful new book fills a sizable gap in our understanding of congressional elections by evaluating the politics associated with using the 'backdoor' entrance to Congress.

• Chapter 1: The Place of Special ElectionsChapter 2: The Special Election Primary in Georgia's Sixth Congressional District Chapter 3: The 2017 Runoff in Georgia's Sixth Congressional DistrictChapter 4: Other Special Elections Held in the Wake of Trump's WinChapter 5: Money, Money Everywhere but Did it Make Any Difference?Chapter 6: Do Special Elections Tell Anything about Upcoming General Elections?Chapter 7: Wrapping Up