Dr. Eric Heberlig Wins Prestigious D.B. Hardeman Prize

Dr. Eric Heberlig and his co-author, Bruce A. Larson, were recently awarded the 26th D.B. Hardeman Prize by the LBJ Foundation. The award recognized their recently published University of Michigan Press book, Congressional Parties, Institutional Ambition, and the Financing of Majority Control as the most significant book on the U.S. Congress in several fields, includig history, journalism, and political science. The award-winning book analyzes the increasing role of fundraising in congressional members’ advancement within party and congressional committee hierarchies. It addresses the consequences of selecting congressional leaders on the basis of their fundraising skills rather than their legislative capacity and the extent to which the battle for majority control leads Congress to prioritize short-term electoral gains over long-term governing and problem solving.