ABSTRACT
As the preceding chapters make clear, there has been an increased and substantial focus on judicial elections over the past two decades largely because of the so-called “new politics of judicial elections.” Most of this research indicates that judicial elections are taking on many of the same characteristics as elections for higher-profile offices, such as the U.S. Senate or governor. In other words, the campaigns are becoming more expensive and quite political. Outside groups are spending, in many cases, substantial amounts of money to try to influence the makeup of the bench, including sponsoring televised attack ads, as shown in Chapter 4. Even some judicial candidates, who for so long resisted the opportunity to look like other politicians, have become vocal on the campaign trail regarding their positions on issues and their opponents’ weaknesses.
