Nationalized elections and the 2018 U.S. Senate midterms
In the months leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, media outlets and academics have devoted considerable attention to the potential for Democratic gains in the U.S. House of Representatives. Read More
How Senators use Twitter to communicate legislative activity
Congress has experienced much change over the last 50 years, including increased party polarization, committee system reforms, and the rise of social media. The way members communicate with their… Read More
The who, what, when, where, and why of congressional campaign spending
In what will come as a shock to no congressional observer, congressional campaigns are getting more and more expensive. The 2000 election cycle, for example, saw House candidates spend a… Read More
How filibustering and strategic parties contribute to gridlock
By Gregory Koger Filibustering: the Fourth Veto The U.S. Constitution lays out a system with three veto players: the President, the House of Representatives, and the… Read More
Corruption: The perennial campaign issue
With congressional elections coming up in November, Democrats have focused on blasting what they call a Republican “culture of corruption.” (CNN, January 18, 2006) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi… Read More
August recess? It’s the law
It’s (almost) August in Washington which means that Congress (and a good part of the city) will go into recess. This year, however, there’s a twist: The Senate is… Read More
Do roll call votes influence member reelection prospects?
By Ben Highton Political scientists and political analysts have a keen interest in knowing whether the roll call votes Members of Congress (MCs) make concerning significant public policy influence… Read More
How pork-barrel spending shapes the ideological composition of Congress
In classrooms across the country, economics professors often use the phrase “guns and butter” as an analogy for the competing priorities nations face when deciding how to allocate resources. Read More
Rethinking redistricting and when it matters
Image source: US Census By Charles R. Hunt In a previous LegBranch post, I assessed some competing theories of how consequential the redistricting process has been to congressional elections… Read More
Polarization is an output of our process, not the cause of all our woes
Our recent piece, “Congress is Broken. But don’t blame polarization,” provoked a number of useful discussions about how political scientists should interpret the results of empirical models like DW-NOMINATE. Read More