2.2.1 - Representative Function of Congress Flashcards
What is the incumbent?
A person who currently holds the office - in this case an elective office - they can benefit from an advantage of holding this office - this is called the ‘incumbency effect’
Is incumbency that much of an advantage?
In the last 10 election cycles between 2000 and 2018, reelection rates have been very high - averaging 95% in any given election cycle - in 2020 and 2022 the reelection rate was 94.7 and 94.5% respectively
Incumbency advantage - Constituency services and name recognition
An incumbent has the ability to provide constituency services - when election season rolls around the incumbent’s campaign will focus on how their actions in office have benefited their state or district - they can also use website and mailings privileges provided to them by Congress to demonstrate their successes - they also have a high level of name recognition than compared with a challenger
Incumbency advantage - Pork barrel politics
Pork barrel politics is used to refer to funds provided for projects or jobs in a member of Congress’ state or district - these are specifically designed to help the people in the state or district in the hope that constituents will show them gratification by reelecting them at the ballot box
Examples of pork barrel politics
- Alaska Senator Ted Stevens’ ’Bridge to nowhere’ - $223 million spent in 2005 to build a bridge from a remote town of 8,900 people to a small island of Gravina with 50 people living on it
- 2014 DoD Appropriations Act which included $120 million for tank upgrades that the US Army didn’t even want (tank suppliers had operations across several states)
Incumbency advantage - Fundraising advantage
Most incumbents have huge advantages over their challengers when it comes to fundraising - incumbent Senators raised over 7 times as much as their challengers during the 2018 election cycle while House incumbents out-raised their challengers 8-fold - this is hugely significant for the amount of TV time, ads, consultants etc that a candidate can buy to boost their chances of winning
What is gerrymandering
Gerrymandering is the deliberate shaping of congressional districts to give one party a political advantage
Incumbency advantage - Gerrymandering
This can massively alter the outcome of elections depending on how a district is divided, and who is controlling the system - EG in the 2020 congressional elections in NC Dems saw a majority of voters state-wide support their candidates, yet a majority of seats went to Reps
Factors that affect voting behaviour in Congress
1) Political parties
2) Congressional caucuses
3) The administration
4) The constituency
5) Pressure groups
6) Lobbyists
Factors that affect voting behaviour in Congress - Political parties
In an era of hyper-partisanship the political party to which a member of Congress belongs is an increasingly important indicator of which way they are likely to vote - EG Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act of 2016 in which only 6 House members voted off party lines - however it is not uncommon for Conservative Dems to vote with Reps on some issues, or moderate Reps to vote with Dems on other issues, but this is increasingly the exception to the norm
What is a congressional caucus?
The collection of members of either major party elected to the House or the Senate - more widely an association of members of Congress to advance a special interest and to pursue common legislative objectives
Factors that affect voting behaviour in Congress - Congressional caucuses
Congressional caucuses also help determine which way a member will vote especially if the vote is on an issue of great importance to that caucus - three main functions of congressional caucuses are educational, agenda setting, and encouraging support for proposals and legislation
Factors that affect voting behaviour in Congress - The administration
The administration = members of the executive branch EG Pres - cabinet members also have a keen interest in the passage of policy related to their department - the White House can also persuade members to vote a certain way and is in contact regularly with the House speaker and Senate majority leader - any persuasion needs to be regular, reciprocal, and bipartisan
Factors that affect voting behaviour in Congress - The constituency
The Constitution states that members must be residents of the state they represent in order to have a good idea of what folks back home are after - typical members will have been born, raised, educated, and worked in their district - constituents’ views are very important to House members because they are up for reelection every two years
Factors that affect voting behaviour in Congress - Pressure groups
Pressure groups get in contact with members and their staff, and try to gather public support for their position - sometimes pressure group money is used to fund politicians who support their cause and defeat those who don’t - significant pressure group areas include the retired, healthcare, abortion, guns, and the environment - in the 2020 election cycle the financial sector donated over $75 million to candidates of both parties
