The Effect of LGBT Descriptive Representation on Responsiveness in the US House

• In Event: Poster Session: Women and Politics Research II; Sexuality and Politics; Health Politics and Policy & Representation and Electoral Systems
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Sexuality and Politics

Abstract

According to the LGBT Victory Fund, a PAC campaigning to increase the number of LGBT elected officials, the 2018 midterm elections saw a record number of LGBT candidates seeking office across the country. This “Rainbow Wave” swept eight openly LGBT candidates into the US House of Representatives, a historic high. Existing literature examining LGBT descriptive representation supports the hypothesis that an increase in LGBT legislators leads to an increase in substantive representation for LGBT people; however, my research is concerned with the effect such an increase in descriptive representation brings to the chamber itself. In a cross-national study, Reynolds (2013) finds that even a small number of LGBT legislators is significantly associated with the future passage of enhanced LGBT rights. In the US context, Haider-Markel (2007) finds that in the state legislatures, an increase in LGBT representation leads to an increase in the number of pro-LBGT bills introduced and adopted, albeit with a backlash effect. All else being equal, does the presence of LGBT representatives increase the overall support for LGBT rights in the US House of Representatives? Drawing on Haider-Markel (2007) and Reynolds (2013), I theorize that the level of LGBT descriptive representation will influence overall House responsiveness on LGBT issues.
I hypothesize that as the number of LGBT representatives increases, the mean Human Rights Campaign score for the House will increase. Using data from The Human Rights Campaign’s archive of congressional scorecards available for the 108th-115th Congresses, my dependent variable will measure the mean score for each Congress. I will use the HRC Scorecard as a measure of responsiveness as it assigns a score for each legislator based on their votes on key LGBT legislation. HRC is also one of the most prominent LGBT lobbying organizations in the US. The number of LGBT representatives is my primary variable of interest, and I will measure it by counting the total number of Members of Congress who identify as LGBT through public statements. Other explanations I will include are party control of the House, median ideology of the House, the number of female Representatives, the number of racial/ethnic minority Representatives, and public support for LGBT rights.

Author

• Michael Simrak, Purdue University