This edited book on the 2000 election covers many of the traditional areas in voting behavior research, including the role of candidate evaluations, issues, and partisanship. Authors also rely on traditional models of voting behavior research, including the social-psychological, the sociological, and the rational choice model, to understand a wide variety of questions concerning the voters and vote choice in the 2000 election.

Thus, the chapter by Herbert F. Weisberg and Timothy G. Hill and the chapter by John H. Kessel use the social-psychological model to inform our understanding of voter choice, while Steven E. Finkel and Paul Freedman use it as a foundation in understanding the important question of voter turnout. The sociological model is well used in the very interesting piece by Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi that examines how groups have aligned and realigned with the parties over the last half century. Likewise, the Kristin Kanthak and Barbara Norrander piece on the gender gap also relies, in part, on the sociological model of voter choice. The rational choice model of behavior is used in the remaining chapters. William G. Jacoby focuses on the role of ideology in the 2000 election and compares his current findings with the value of ideology in previous presidential elections. Rational choice is also relevant to the chapter by Barry C. Burden in his analysis of the vote decision for minor parties and candidates, particularly as it applies to Ralph Nader's and Patrick Buchanan's roles in the 2000 election and how their ballot presence influenced the outcome of the 2000 election. Finally, it also is pertinent to the Janet Box-Steffensmeier, J. Tobin Grant, and Thomas J. Rudolph essay on the role of the campaign finance issue on turnout and choice in 2000, as well as to the chapter by Helmut Norpoth about the role of economic attitudes and incumbency to vote choice and to David C. Kimball's examination of split-ticket voting. This collection of essays, therefore, offers an opportunity for scholarly explorations and consideration of the major theories in political behavior research and their applications to a variety of questions in the context of the extremely close and fascinating 2000 election.

Many of the chapters rely on or expand similar works the contributors have completed in the past. This updating provides useful linkages with the past and demonstrates how different election contexts play a role in shaping the critical factors in any given election. For example, using the entire National Election Studies, the Stanley and Niemi essay is very insightful as it lays out the changing nature of the partisan coalitions and what that means for the future. Likewise, the Kessel, Finkel and Freedman, Kimball, Weisberg and Hill, Kanthak and Norrander, Burden, and Norpoth chapters all have historical components to their analyses.

The essays also present a wide variety of data sets and analytical methods. This is not only analytically appropriate but also a strength of the book because it provides an overview of the kinds of data and methods political scientists employ in this research area. Moreover, it presents these varying statistical techniques in a manner accessible to an undergraduate or less methodologically advanced audience. Most of the authors do not dwell on particular coefficients or the details of each model variable, but on how the model addresses the question at hand.

While this eclectic group of essays in no way tells a particular story or offers a coherent picture of the 2000 election, it does offer a broad look at it in a way that outlines many of the major questions in the subfield. In this way, it presents an overview of the kind of questions American political behavior scholars ask, the theories they use, the types of data they employ, and the statistical analyses and analytical approaches available. It also details the inferences that can be made from well-considered and tested questions in a contemporary election setting.

Given these qualities and the broad number of questions asked, this collection of essays would be best suited for an undergraduate political behavior course. Professors could guide discussion around different questions and models of political behavior, including the importance of attitudes, issues, ideology, and candidates on voter choice; the importance of candidate behavior on voter turnout; the changing makeup of partisan coalitions since the New Deal; the decision-making calculus for third party voters; and the motivation and contextual factors that promote ticket splitting.

Alternatively, professors could also consider discussions on the different conclusions found by different articles on the same subject. For example, one interesting question these essays explore is the role that outgoing President Bill Clinton played in the election outcome (compare Weisberg and Hill to Norpoth). Another question might be the value and use of ideology by voters in this election (compare Kanthack and Norrander to Jacoby). Or, alternatively, another interesting question is the current value of party identification and whether it is increasing or declining (compare Kimball to Finkel and Freedman). Other discussions may arise from this text, including questions about epistemology and the importance of measurement and good definition and general research design. Finally, the breadth of these essays can lead to valuable and interesting discussions on the types of factors that are most important (including characteristics of voters, candidate behavior, party ideology, the role of economics in good and bad times, the influence of a sitting president who cannot run, the influence of coalitions), as well as when and why they are most important in explaining the political behavior and attitudes of voters.

In conclusion, Models of Voting in Presidential Elections offers a solid examination of the 2000 election from a variety of vantage points and, in many cases, incorporates the history behind the questions being asked and their importance to political behavior research. In this regard, the book is a good demonstration of the scholarly activity in this subfield and, therefore, would be most appropriate, along with other readers and texts, in an undergraduate political behavior course.