Contemporary congressional elections can be fairly described as not only nationalized, but also increasingly president-centric. While the implications of nationalization for both candidates’ electoral prospects and voter decision-making have been
Apr 2025
Building a Record: Amending Activity, Position Taking, and the Seventeenth Amendment
Reelection is frequently viewed as the most important goal for members of Congress, and to be reelected, members take positions that are in line with that of their constituencies. We
Feb 2025
The Trump Effect: Nationalized Narratives and Congressional Outcomes in the 2024 Elections
The 2024 elections resulted in a rightward shift, with Republicans taking back both the presidency and Senate while holding onto a very slim majority in the House of Representatives. Despite
May 2024
In the Shadow of Trump: The 2022 Midterm Elections
In the months leading up to the 2022 midterms, Republicans believed a variety of factors were working in their favor including inflation and overall state of the economy, redistricting, and
Sep 2023
Home Field Advantage: Roots, Reelection, and Representation in the Modern Congress
Anyone closely following American politics today will recognize the nationalized tenor of political dialogue and the behavior of the electorate. Candidates running for congressional office often echo the same themes
May 2022
Congressional apportionment and the fourteenth amendment
This paper examines state interest in the nine bases of congressional seat apportionment considered for the House of Representatives as part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. We
Jun 2020
TRENDS: Creating Parties in Congress: The Emergence of a Social Network
This article examines the creation of political parties in Congress with a focus on ties between emerging party leaders and members, 1789–1802. Using an egocentric selection model, we examine who
Feb 2019
Using Computer Simulations to Measure the Effect of Gerrymandering on Electoral Competition in the U.S. Congress
Recent research has leveraged computer simulations to identify the effect of gerrymandering on partisan bias in U.S. legislatures. As a result of this method, researchers are able to distinguish between
Dec 2016
Evaluating partisan gains from Congressional gerrymandering: Using computer simulations to estimate the effect of gerrymandering in the U.S. House
What is the effect of gerrymandering on the partisan outcomes of United States Congressional elections? A major challenge to answering this question is in determining the outcomes that would have
Apr 2016
The Party Polarization Process in Congress: A Look at the Pre-condition in Conditional Party Government
CPG theory offers a convincing explanation of party polarization in Congress. This paper looks at what might be called the “pre-condition” necessary to produce homogeneous party caucuses—preferences in partisan reelection
