This chapter presents Fligstein and McAdam’s theory of strategic action fields as a synthesis of the sociology of social change. The theory presents the social world as composed of embedded strategic action fields, each populated by three general types of social actors: incumbents, challengers, and an internal governance units. This chapter relies upon the electrical power company to illustrate the theory, preparing the way for a more granular discussion of the electrical power company.

In this chapter, we investigate whether Fox News’ presence in districts shaped the competitive electoral landscape by influencing potential candidates’ perceptions about the partisan make-up of the constituency in the district and shaping their perceived chances of winning or losing. Specifically, in this chapter, we test whether the entry of Fox News created the perception of a rightward shift in district party composition among potential Republican candidates considering a run in the district. We find that in districts with more Fox News availability, high-quality potential Republican candidates were more likely to challenge Democratic incumbents, especially if the districts were closely competitive.