CONGRESS AND THE PEOPLE| 261a strong challenger raised the issue in a campaign—the incumbents would have
staked out a position consistent with what their constituents would want once they
knew more about the issue.
Another way to examine the representative–constituency relationship is to look
at diff erences across districts. How do districts vary? First, they diff er in size: Sen-
ate “districts” (that is, states) vary in terms of both area and population. House dis-
tricts all have about 700,000 people, but they vary tremendously in geographic size.
Districts also diff er in terms of who lives there and what they want from government.
Because districts are so multifaceted, the legislators they elect diff er from one
another as well. Regardless of the offi ce, most voters want to elect someone whose
policy positions are close to theirs. As a result, legislators tend to refl ect the cen-
tral tendencies of their districts. At one level, electing a legislature that “thinks
like America” sounds good: if legislators act and think like their districts, then the
legislature will contain a good mixture of the interests representing the country or
state. But fi nding an acceptable compromise is not easy. We elect legislators to get
things done, but they may be unable to agree on anything because their disagree-
ments are too fundamental to bridge. For example, the country is sharply divided
on abortion rights, as are the House, the Senate, and most state legislatures. The
fact that legislators have not come to a decision on this issue is no surprise: just as
citizens disagree, so do their elected representatives.
Despite the vast differences among congressional constituencies, voters
nationwide want many of the same things: a healthy economy, a safe country
(in terms of national defense and local crime), good schools, and effective and1020304050515253545Number of members1933 1943 1953 1963 1973 1983 1993 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013African Americans
Hispanic AmericansSource: Compiled from Mildred L. Amer, “Black Members of the United States Congress: 1870–2005,”
Congressional Research Service Report RL30378, August 4, 2005; Government Printing Offi ce, Hispanic
Americans in Congress, 1822–1995. 1995, http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/congress/ (accessed 1/4/10). Source for
2009–13: Roll Call, http://www.rollcall.com (accessed 11/9/12).
MINORITIES IN THE HOUSE, 1933–2013
Hispanics now comprise the largest ethnic minority in the United States, yet they still
lag behind African Americans in terms of representation in the House. What do you
think explains this diff erence? How might it aff ect policy?