Representatives Report Presidents' Legislative Activity to Constituents

• In Event: Roll Call and Non-Roll Call Position Taking in the U.S. Congress

Abstract

Congressional research has long documented representatives' various forms of "home style" self-promotion in their communications with constituents. Invariably, representatives claim credit for their success in extracting goods and services from the Treasury destined for their district. Voters presumably reward their assiduous efforts by reelecting them. Yet we know that voters also pay sufficient attention to national politics to form and update evaluations of the president, of Congress, and of the political parties. These assessments inform voter's reputations of the parties and the candidates who run under their banners. Presumably representatives are aware that at least some voters look past home style. The question we raise in this paper is, what, if anything, they do about it? Specifically, do representatives try to shape the parties' reputations with district voters by positioning themselves in support or opposition of the administration?

Examining data comprised of nearly 170,000 press releases sent by House members to their districts during the 109th, 110th and 111th Congresses, we investigate the extent to which representatives summon presidents' legislative preferences and actions in making their case to their voters. However proficient the routines of home style may be in currying local voters' favor, one can easily imagine that those incumbents who discern their party's advantage in the district will seek to remind voters of their party's success in passing desirable legislation and thwarting the opposition in passing its odious policies.

In this paper we examine the covariates of legislators' decisions to associate themselves with their party's attractive accomplishments and run from (or repair) a weak brand reputation. Decisions about whether and how to invoke the president should show responsiveness to political factors like the party affiliation of the House member compared to that of the president, how the president did in that district in the previous election, and the current popularity levels of the president. However, covariates also include the legislator's record in the House and their voters' opinions of them and their national party in the CCES surveys. To the extent voters pay close attention to national political matters when determining their vote, representatives should seek to use them to their advantage. For example, during the latter years of George W. Bush's administration, as his approval sank, Democrats averaged nearly twice as many mentions of the president than did Republicans. We conclude by testing the relationship between legislators' decisions to stake out positions on presidents' preferences and actions on legislation on their reelection success. These decisions about whether and how to invoke the president in their press releases have broader implications than just reelection though - they may also shape constituents' views of both Congress and the president. Presidents can be presented positively as an ally to Congress in its pursuit of good laws, a champion of party ideals, and a key defender against the opposition party's attempts at policy change, or they may be characterized negatively as a recalcitrant roadblock who refuses to cooperate with Congress for the good of the country.

Authors

• Zoe Nemerever, University of California San Diego

• Laurie L. Rice, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

• Samuel Kernell, University of California, San Diego