Casework, Issue Positions, and Voting in Congressional Elections: A District Analysis

Abstract

Democratic theory suggests that representation should be associated with both service and policy responsiveness. There is, however, serious question about whether either kind of responsiveness plays any significant role in the outcomes of congressional elections and about whether greater service responsiveness eliminates the need for policy responsiveness. Part of the problem with resolving these questions has been with the kind of data available, since individual-level data on congressional districts are hard to find (compared to data for presidential contests) and are unlikely to combine measures of both kinds of responsiveness. This study utilizes data gathered in a particular congressional district (both data on actual member-constituent contacts and survey data) to discern more explicitly whether ombudsman service and relative issue proximity to the incumbent affects constituent vote choice. The findings support the position that both service and policy responsiveness matter in congressional elections.