From voter to micro-target: The ever-evolving science of campaigning in U.S elections

Abstract

This book review of The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns by Sasha Issenberg describes how this book captures the new trend of merging traditional “gut instinct” politics and scientific research through data. The main strength of the book is the collection of interviews with sources who have been successful at using data in political campaigns. This strength is also the main criticism of this book – its reliance on face-to-face in-depth interview as the main methodology, which may subject the author to spin. The reviewer recommends The Victory Lab primarily to practitioners, but indicates that it should be on the reading list of any astute “political junkie.”

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