Tracing the Rural-Urban Divide in Congress

• In Event: Polarization and Partisanship in Congress

Abstract

A burgeoning literature within American politics suggests that since the 1990s, a growing divide between rural and urban dwellers has aggravated political polarization in mass politics and even threatened the health of democracy. Yet few have examined how this place-based divide has shaped Congressional behavior and elite polarization. In this paper, we amass data at the district and member level to examine economic, social, and political trends across more rural and urban districts, dating back to 1980. We trace how rural and urban districts and members have (and have not) diverged in recent decades, including how these trends might have contributed to polarization in Congress. We reflect on how our findings might enrich the literatures on Congressional behavior and geographical polarization.

Authors

• Trevor Brown, Cornell University

• Suzanne Mettler, Cornell University

• Danielle Thomsen, University of California, Irvine