I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote – by Christopher J Devine

About the Book

I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote is a comprehensive and compelling examination of the strategy and effectiveness of presidential campaign visits.

Book Synopsis

During presidential campaigns, candidates crisscross the country nonstop–visiting swing states, their home turf, and enemy territory. But do all those campaign visits make a difference when Election Day comes? If so, how and under what conditions? Do they mobilize the partisan faithful or persuade undecided voters? What do campaigns try to achieve through campaign visits–and when do they succeed?

I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote is a comprehensive and compelling examination of the strategy and effectiveness of presidential campaign visits. Christopher J. Devine uses an original database of presidential and vice-presidential campaign visits from 2008 through 2020 to estimate the effects of visits on vote choice and turnout, both among individual voters and within counties. He finds that campaign visits do not usually influence voting behavior, but when they do, most often it is by persuading undecided voters–as was the case for John McCain in 2008 and even Donald Trump in 2020. Challenging the recent emphasis on candidates playing to their base, this book suggests that persuasion is still a viable campaign strategy, in which candidate visits may play a major role.

I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote is an authoritative and engaging analysis designed for scholars, strategists, students, and other readers interested in understanding how campaign visits–and campaigns more broadly–shape presidential election outcomes.

Review Quotes

This is the definitive book on campaign appearances and an essential work on campaign behavior. It is the most comprehensive analysis of how campaigns allocate their most valuable resource–the candidate’s time. Well-written, engaging, and carefully researched, this is a marvelous book.–Andrew Reeves, coauthor of No Blank Check: The Origins and Consequences of Public Antipathy towards Presidential Power

Carefully crafted and engagingly written, I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote presents a thorough and important analysis of the role in-person campaigning plays in presidential elections. A must read for political scientists, historians, and anyone interested in how campaigns work.–Mary E. Stuckey, author of Deplorable: The Worst Presidential Campaigns from Jefferson to Trump

Through historical examination and empirical analysis, Devine offers vivid insight into the nuances of presidential campaigns and how candidates navigate making appeals to voters in the face of numerous constraints.–Chryl N. Laird, coauthor of Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior

This book takes on a perennial set of election questions: where are candidates traveling, and what impact does it have? With data and historical context, Christopher Devine enhances our understanding of travel during presidential campaigns. Everyone who is interested in these questions should read this book. –Julia Azari, author of Delivering the People’s Message: The Changing Politics of the Presidential Mandate

This book successfully blends a historical and theoretical narrative with an empirical analysis that updates and expands upon existing research. The careful discussion of measurement issues related to analyzing campaign visits is particularly useful.–Thomas Holbrook, author of Altered States: Changing Populations, Changing Parties, and the Transformation of the American Political Landscape

About the Author

Christopher J. Devine is associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton. His books include Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections (with Kyle C. Kopko, 2020). His writing has appeared in various media outlets, including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Politico, NBC News, and FiveThirtyEight.