Tweeting for Latinos? Legislative Communication in the 115th U.S. House of Representatives

Abstract

This article explores whether legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives talk about the issues important to Latinos on Twitter. Other work has emphasized the importance of descriptive representation for the substantive advancement of the interests of minority constituents. Building on that work, I argue that Latino legislators are more likely than their non-Latino peers to discuss issues important to the Latino community. In addition, given majoritarian constraints and work showing how minority legislators are marginalized in the legislative process, I argue that minority legislators – Latinos included – are more likely to post symbolic messages than their colleagues because they are not able to change the status quo and advance the interests of their co-ethnic/racial constituents. I explore these hypotheses using data collected from the Twitter profiles of members of the 115th U.S. House of Representatives. After accounting for other factors, I find that Latino legislators are more likely to post about immigration and Hurricane Maria during the 115th Congress. I also find that Latino legislators are more likely to post symbolic messages when communicating with the public. Both of these findings corroborate the notion of minority distinctiveness and add to our understanding of Latino representation, minority behavior, and legislative communication.