The Context of
Congressional Elections
Jacobson, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
“Elections stand at the core of American
Political life.”
 They do two things:

◦ The Mythical--Legitimize Authority (presumably
we are governed by our own consent)
◦ The Practical--Determine who will hold
positions of power in the political system

These two meet when we discuss the
degree to which those in power are
responsive to the electorate.
Introduction
Who gets elected to Congress and how?
 Why do people vote the way they do in
congressional elections?
 How do electoral politics affect the way
Congress works and the policies it
produces?
 What kind of representation do
congressional elections provide?

Main Questions
To answer these questions, political
scientists use a variety of different
research orientations.
 Some look at:

◦ Voters
◦ Candidates and Campaigns
 Money
◦ Aggregate Results of Congressional Elections
 Distribution of House and Senate seats
◦ Representation
Studying Congressional Elections

In order to start a discussion on
congressional elections we first need to
discuss….
CONTEXT!!!
To Begin…
From where do members of Congress get
elected?
 First, let’s talk about the House

◦ Districts
◦ Partisan Gerrymandering
◦ Racial Gerrymandering
Congressional Districts

Partisan
• Tempered by incumbent protection
(another use of the gerrymander) and
candidate focused voters
• Facilitated by new computer
programs
• Districts with multiple incumbents
• Texas
• Davis v. Bandemer – partisan
gerrymander unconstitutional if
sufficiently egregious.

Racial
Thornburg v. Gingles – districts
should not discriminate against
minorities.
• Shaw v. Reno and Miller v. Johnson
– limits placed on blatant racial
redistricting
• Hunt v. Cromartie – race can be
considered if primary motivation is
partisan.
•
Senate districts are the states.
This creates a unique situation in terms of
representation in the Senate.
 Senators from small states (population)
have the same voting power as senators
from large states.
 This generally results in the minority party
winning a share of seats in the Senate
significantly larger than their share of
votes nationwide.


The Senate
For the most part, states are in charge of
administering elections.
 However, there is a trend towards a
uniformity in election laws across the
states.
 A single date for elections encourages:

◦ National Campaigns
◦ Party Tickets
◦ Coattail Effects
Election Laws
In the big inning (baseball pun intended)
local party organizations printed the
ballots.
 Between 1888 and 1896 about 90% of
the states adopted the Australian Ballot.

◦ Produced by the government
◦ Lists candidates from all parties
◦ Marked in the privacy of voting booth


Makes it easier for ballot splitting.
In some cases increased partisan loyalty.
The Australian Ballot
We cannot discuss parties without
discussing the effect that primaries have
had on the power of parties in national
and even local elections.
Political Parties
Additionally, the primary system
complicates the ability of members to
pursue a congressional career.
 They must navigate two different
elections, with two distinct electorates in
order to win office.

◦ Primary Constituency
◦ General Election Constituency
Primaries

There are several other factors that
contribute to the variability in election
outcomes across the United States:
◦
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◦
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Geography
Population
Economics
Income
Communications
Ethnicity
Age
Political Habits
Social and Political Contexts

In the next class we will take an in depth
look at the candidates themselves,
looking at things such as:
◦
◦
◦
◦
Incumbency
Challengers
Money
Homestyle
Next…