In an era when all things seem unprecedented, it is paramount that political scientists revisit, revise, and reassess what we know about American political behavior. In the most basic sense, Fridkin and Kenney's Choices in a Chaotic Campaign: Understanding Citizens’ Decisions in the 2020 Election speaks to the question “do campaigns matter?” Despite there being a large body of literature spanning roughly seven decades on the subject of campaign effects, Fridkin and Kenney's analysis is a well-needed update in light of a “chaotic” 2020 election cycle.

Although delightfully cheeky, the second chapter's title “A Hot Mess inside a Dumpster Fire inside a Train Wreck” (37) provides an unfortunately accurate illustration of the political context surrounding the 2020 election. Plagued by conspiracy theories, misinformation, social unrest, larger-than-life political personalities, and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, the 2020 election provides fertile ground for examining how Americans interpret politics. Taking advantage of “serendipitous timing” in implementing a three-wave panel survey (31), Fridkin and Kenney leverage the chaos of 2020 to better our understanding of campaign effects.

Supported by a plethora of empirical analyses, Fridkin and Kenney provide thoughtful commentary and a