Journal Articles

Examining the electoral connection across time

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Mayhew's (1974) thesis regarding the “electoral connection” and its impact on legislative behavior has become the theoretical foundation for much of the research on the contemporary U.S. Congress. Recently, scholar To assess these claims more systematically, we consider four conditions that serve as the bus have begun to suggest that the Mayhewian electoral incentive may apply to politics in earlier congressional eras as well.ilding blocks of the electoral connection—ambition, autonomy, responsiveness, and accountability. Through a detailed review of the literature on electoral politics in Congress, we discover that all four conditions were present in a strict sense as far back as the Progressive Era. Moreover, considerable evidence suggests that a weaker, less formalized version of the electoral connection existed even earlier in American history. We conclude by briefly discussing the implications of these findings on the rapidly growing literature examining the historical and institutional evolution of Congress.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Annual Review of Political Science

Call Number

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Publisher

California : Annual Reviews., 2011

Collation

p. 25-46

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

10942939

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 14, 2011 p. 25-46

Subject(s)

Autonomy
Congress
responsiveness
Accountability
ambition

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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