384 Chapter 11 | Congresswith relatively low turnover overall, many incumbents are “running scared”; in every
election, a few supposedly safe incumbents are unexpectedly defeated, and members
tend to think that it could happen to them the next time around. Mayhew warns: “When
we say ‘Congressman Smith is unbeatable,’ we do not mean that there is nothing he
could do that would lose him his seat.” As we noted in Chapter 9, this actually means:
“Congressman Smith is unbeatable as long as he continues to do the things that he is
doi n g.”^13 Members recognize that becoming inattentive to their district, being on the
wrong side of a key string of votes, or failing to bring home the district’s share of federal
benefits could cost them their seats. A potential challenger is always waiting in the wings.
Mayhew outlines three ways that members promote their chances for reelection:
advertising, credit claiming, and position taking. Each approach shapes the way members
relate to their constituents. “Advertising” in this context refers to appeals or appearances
without issue content that get the member’s name in front of the public in a favorable way.
Advertising includes activities associated with “working the district,” such as attending
town meetings; appearing in a parade; going to a local Rotary Club lunch; or sending
letters of congratulation for graduations, birthdays, or anniversaries. Members of
Congress also spend a fair amount of time meeting with their constituents in Washington,
D.C., including seeing school groups, tourists, and interest groups from their districts.
In “credit claiming,” the member of Congress takes credit for something of value to
voters—most commonly, pork-barrel policies targeted to benefit specific constituents
or the district as a whole. The goods must be specific and small enough in scale that the
member of Congress may believably claim credit. In other words, it is far less credible
to take credit for a national drop in violent crime or an increase in SAT scores than for
the renovations at a local veterans’ hospital or a highway improvement grant. The other
main source of credit claiming is casework for individual constituents who request
help with tasks such as tracking down a lost Social Security check or expediting the
processing of a passport. This activity, like advertising, has both district-based and
Washington-based components.
“Position taking” refers to any public statement—such as a roll call vote, speech,
editorial, or position paper—about a topic of interest to constituents or interest
groups. This may be the toughest aspect of a member’s job, because, on many issues,
the member is likely to alienate a certain segment of the population no matter what
position he or she takes. Members try to appeal to specific audiences within their
district. For example, while speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars members might
emphasize their support for a particular new weapons program, but in meetings
with college students they might highlight their opposition to the National Security
Agency’s collection of millions of phone records.
Representatives’ focus on reelection has some costs. We’ll identify five common
ones here: (1) There is a perception that Congress has granted itself too many special
privileges aimed at securing reelection (such as funding for large staffs and sending
mail at no cost). (2) Evidence suggests that some voters question the value of pork-
barrel spending, even when it is targeted to their district.^14 (3) Members’ desire to please
means that Congress has a difficult time refusing any group’s demands, which may lead
to passage of contradictory policies. (4) Given that most members are experts at getting
reelected, they achieve a certain level of independence from the party leadership—that
is, they do not depend on party leaders for their reelection. This fact contributes to the
fragmentation of Congress and creates difficulties for congressional leaders as they
attempt to shepherd policies through the legislative maze. ( 5) Time spent actively
campaigning takes time away from the responsibilities of enacting laws and overseeing
their implementation.
The desire to be reelected influences House members’ and senators’ behavior
both in their districts and in Congress. Consider the early career of Senator Tammycasework
Assistance provided by members
of Congress to their constituents in
solving problems with the federal
bureaucracy or addressing other
specific concerns.Full_12_APT_64431_ch11_374-417.indd 384 16/11/18 10:30 AM