There are two winners in every presidential election campaign: The inevitable winner when it begins and the inevitable victor after it ends. In The Candidate, Samuel Popkin explains the difference between them.

While plenty of political insiders have written about specific campaigns, only Popkin - drawing on a lifetime of presidential campaign experience and academic research - analyzes what it takes to win the next campaign. The road to the White House is littered with geniuses of campaigns past. Why doesn't practice make perfect? Why is experience such a poor teacher? Why are the same mistakes replayed again and again?

Based on detailed analyses of the winners - and losers - of the last 60 years of presidential campaigns, Popkin explains how challengers get to the White House, incumbents stay there for a second term and successors hold power for their party. A vision for the future and the audacity to run are only the first steps; presidential hopefuls can survive the most grueling show on earth only if they understand the critical factors that Popkin reveals in The Candidate.