SGER: Representation in the 2008 Presidential Nomination Campaign

一场罕见的政治事件正在上演。近3000万民主党党内人士参加了民主党总统候选人的角逐，但最终只有不到800名被称为“超级代表”的党内精英可以决定民主党总统候选人。这一难题引发了一系列关于政党领导人在选举中扮演的角色的有趣问题。党内人士如何看待自己在提名过程中的角色？他们认为自己代表谁？他们的决定以哪些考虑因素为指导？数百万在初选中投票或参加党团会议的党派人士对政党领导人可能解决一场历史性的提名活动的想法有何看法？选民是否相信这一过程是合法的，政党领导人的行为方式与公民的态度和信仰产生了共鸣？该项目认为，理解政治精英行为的关键在于探索他们对自己代表性角色的看法。通过考察公民及其代表的想法和印象，我们获得了关于代表质量以及选民对国家提名制度的运作和合法性的理解和评估的重要见解。为了了解超级代表是如何做出选择的，有必要对这一特殊群体进行调查。该项目将进行电话/互联网混合模式的调查。由于超级代表的身份是公开的，该项目可以获得他们的联系信息，并将尝试通过电话和互联网采访795名超级代表。除了与超级代表交谈外，该项目还将随机采访参与2008年总统竞选小组调查的登记选民。当前的提名活动提供了一种杠杆，可以用来审视围绕“大众-精英联系”的经典问题。具体地说，探索精英和公民之间代表权的性质和质量，对民主制度的学生和参与者具有持久的兴趣。该项目处于一个独特的位置，可以比较大众和精英对候选人态度的看法，以及对提名活动的行为和结果的评估。总之，这项研究提供了一个机会，在新的背景下探索代表制的性质，以准确评估代表和选民以及对在决定公共政策方面发挥如此重要作用的组织的态度。

A rare political event is unfolding. Nearly 30 million Democratic partisans have participated in contests to choose the Democratic Party's presidential nominee; but ultimately, less than 800 party elites known as "superdelegates" can determine the Democratic candidate for president. This conundrum raises a series of interesting questions regarding the role of political party leaders in elections. How do party figures see their roles in the nomination process? Who do they believe they represent? What considerations guide their decisions? What do the millions of partisans who voted in primaries or participated in caucuses think about the notion that party leaders could settle a historic nomination campaign? Do voters believe the process is legitimate and that party leaders are acting in ways that resonate with citizens' attitudes and beliefs?This project argues that the key to understanding the behavior of political elites lies in exploring their perceptions of their representational roles. By examining the thoughts and impressions of citizens and their representatives, we gain important insights regarding the quality of representation as well as voters' understanding and assessment of the workings and legitimacy of the national nominating system. To understand how superdelegates make their choices, it is necessary to survey this special population. This project will conduct a mixed mode telephone/internet survey. Because the identities of the superdelegates are publicly available, this project can obtain their contact information and will attempt to interview the entire population of 795 superdelegates using telephone and internet interviews. In addition to talking to the superdelegates, the project will interview a random sample of registered voters participating in an ongoing panel survey for the 2008 presidential campaign. The current nomination campaign provides leverage to examine the classic questions surrounding "mass-elite linkages." Specifically, exploring the nature and quality of representation between elites and citizens has enduring interests to students of and participants in democratic institutions. This project is in a unique position to compare mass and elite perceptions regarding attitudes towards the candidates and evaluations of the conduct and consequences of the nominating campaign. In summary, this study offers an opportunity to explore the nature of representation in a novel setting to accurately assess the attitudes of representatives and constituents and with respect to organizations that play such an important role in determining public policy.