FEDERAL DEPUTY CAMPAIGNING IN MEXICO. PERSONAL AND PARTY BASED EFFORTS

This paper explores how Mexican congressional candidates campaign in single-member-districts. To do so, it looks beyond the effects of the electoral system and single term limits and examines both party leaders' incentives and the strong likelihood that deputies will return to their locality to continue their political careers. We argue that theories that only examine electoral rules miss the crucial input of the party leadership as well as different ways that office-seeking deputies can continue career trajectories. With a database on the campaign activities for a sample of the candidates from the three major parties in Mexico, we show first, that plurality candidates are active campaigners; and second, that running in competitive districts and holding greater personal experience lead to more personal vote type activities. Nonetheless, national party offices are also active participants in federal deputy campaigns -underlining the mixed nature of modern campaigning.