Congress: Representation

Congress and Representation Congress is the most important representative institution in government. A member’s primary responsibility is to his or her constituency, the district making up the area from which an official is elected. Good representation encompasses a wide variety of activities.

How Members Represent Their Districts

Forms of Representation MCs act in two ways: Delegate: Legislators vote according to the preferences of their constituencies. Trustee: Legislators vote based on what they think is best for their constituencies. Discussion: It is useful to engage students in a discussion of which of these modes of representation they expect their representative to adopt. Most MCs are a mix of Delegates and Trustees Agency Representation: type of representation according to which representatives are held accountable to their constituents if they fail to represent them properly; constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives due to frequent competitive elections

Descriptive Representation Legislators not only represent others; they may be representative of others as well. Descriptive representation refers to the idea that we seek to have a legislature that has demographic characteristics similar to the population it represents. Descriptive representation: legislators are representative of others (gender & race); facilitated by majority minority districts (districts with racial or ethnic minorities in the majority) MCs also may be concerned with their geographic constituency or with others if they want to move – rep to senator, governor, president

Demographic Summary of Members of Congress

Electing the House Directly elected by the people every two years Most (originally) responsible to electorate Frequency of elections Apportionment Distribution of legislators based on state’s population Reapportionment Redistribution of legislators based on state’s population after decade census Redistricting Redrawing of congressional districts based on reapportionment State legislatures in charge of redistricting Gerrymandering Redistricting to favor a political party or group

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcUDBgYodIE

Electing the Senate Staggered terms State legislatures originally elected senators “Millionaires’ Club” Seventeenth Amendment Popular election of senators

3 Issues of the Electoral System Who decides to run for office & which candidates have an edge Advantage of incumbency The way congressional district lines are drawn

The Electoral System: Who Runs? Because members of Congress are agents, electoral considerations are very important. To win, candidates need: ambition money name recognition / strong political base charisma / strong personal organization Decision to run is personal Ability to raise money is connected to relationships to other politicians, interest groups, & the national party org Wealthy individuals may finance their own races The way congressional district overlaps state legislative boundaries may affect a candidate’s decision to run - US reps from small states whose congressional districts cover a large portion of the state are more likely to run for statewide office

The Electoral System: Incumbency Incumbency (holding a political office for which one is running) is a huge advantage in congressional elections. Some of the advantages include: casework patronage pork-barrel legislation early money Discussion: Among other advantages, incumbent members of Congress get a lot of media coverage that helps to boost their already strong name recognition and the sense among their constituents that they are working hard for the folks back home. Even what seems like bad media coverage can boost an incumbent’s profile and help him or her raise money for the next election. In an episode of The Colbert Report’s “Better Know a District,” Stephen Colbert demonstrates the power of incumbency in his interview with former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL): http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/72021/july-20-2006/better-know-a-district---florida-s-19th---robert-wexler Advantages: Opportunities to serve on legislative committees = opportunity for policy experience, to be in a position to help constituents Casework: constituency service; takes up over ¼ of a MC’s time and 2/3 of staff’s time; talking to constituents, providing minor services, introducing special bills, attempting to influence decisions by agencies & regulatory commissions Patronage: forms of direct services & benefits that members provide for their districts – such as pork-barrel legislation (federal projects & federal $ for their districts or states); e.g. earmarks: practice through which MCs insert language into otherwise pork-free bills that provide special benefits for their own constituents ($10 million bridge to nowhere in Alaska in 2005 transportation bill) Franking privilege: MCs can send mail to their constituents free of charge; may not send mail outside of district or send mass mailings within 90 days of a primary or general election Fundraising: brand name gives incumbents an advantage; can raise money throughout the term; more attractive to donors Can deter potential opponents Sophomore surge: tendency for candidates to win a higher percentage of the vote when seeking their 2nd term in office than their initial victory Incumbency also makes it harder for women to increase their numbers in Congress; female candidates who run for open seats are just as likely to win as male candidates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5Whn6CuvoE

the member of Congress who represents you? Can you name: the member of Congress who represents you? the person who ran against your representative in the most recent House election? Discussion: Many students cannot name their own representative off the top of their head. Far fewer can name the challenger who ran against that person. This demonstrates the name-recognition advantage incumbent House members have.

Turnover in the House of Representatives

The Power of Incumbency Discussion: Notice that even in recent “wave” elections like 2006, 2008, and 2010, the vast majority of House and Senate incumbents were reelected.

Incumbency in the House and Senate The House has a higher rate of incumbency reelection than the Senate House members serve in small, often safe districts House members serve two year terms. House members run for reelection almost all of the time.

Money in Congressional Elections One of the big reasons congressional incumbents are so safe is that they raise and spend more money than their opponents. In part, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as campaign donors want to give only to those they think can win, and incumbents usually win, so they get more money.

House and Senate Campaign Expenditures

Privileges of Congress Salaries $174,000 for rank and file members $193,400 for Senate and House leaders $223,500 for Speaker of the House Benefits include pensions, health coverage Office Allowances Travel Allowances Franking Privilege Immunity Cannot be arrested during Congress business Cannot be sued for libel/slander during Congress business

The Electoral System: Congressional Districts Every 10 years, House districts must be reapportioned by state legislatures 1929: Congress set total number of seats at 435 Tendency to gerrymander districts by both parties Discussion: Gerrymandering will be discussed at greater length in the chapter on elections. In recent years the South and West have gained seats at the expense of the Northeast & Midwest CA & TX examples CA: after 1980 census, a redistricting effort controlled by the Democrats who controlled the governorship and both state houses, resulted in Democrats taking control of 2/3 of seats in CA’s House delegation TX: 2003 the Texas legislature redrew the congressional districts even though it had just been done in 2002; Texas Republicans argued that nothing constitutionally prevented them from doing it more frequently; Democrats in Texas state legislature walked out and fled across the border so there would not be enough lawmakers for a session but eventually the Republicans prevailed

Changing Apportionment of House Seats By Region Discussion: As the population has shifted from the Northeast and Midwest into the South and the West, congressional districts have been redistributed to reflect those changes.

Why Incumbents Sometimes Lose Incumbents may become involved in a scandal. Incumbents may be redistricted out of their seat and may face another incumbent in their new district. Redistricting may cause a seat to become competitive. There might be a “throw the bums out” sentiment. Unpopular political party Mistrust of government