Multiple Candidacies and the Role of the Lowest Electoral Tier for Individualized Campaigning

2015

The effects of mixed electoral systems on politicians’ incentives and work in the legislature are most often studied in isolation from the possibly mediating role of campaign behavior. The tier in which a candidate runs might determine a particular style and content of campaigning, more or less party centered and more or less constituency oriented, which in turn could shape how the elected politician will perceive her mandate and act upon it. But what type of campaigning prevails when candidacy in multiple tiers is the rule and the majoritarian element is the dominant component of the mixed electoral system? The present study draws on a survey of 431 candidates in the 2010 Hungarian parlia…