Members of Congress

Who is in Congress: Sex and Race Beliefs and interests of members of Congress can affect policy Sex and Race: House has become less male and less white Senate has been slower to change Members of color may gain influence more quickly than women b/c they come from safe districts Republican control has decreased influence of all minorities

Who is in Congress: Incumbency Membership in Congress became a career – low turnover by the 1950’s 1992 and 1994 brought many new members to the House Redistricting after 1990 census put many incumbents in districts they couldn’t win Anti-incumbency attitude of voters Republican victory in 1994 partially due to shift in South

Who is in Congress: Incumbency Incumbents still have great electoral advantage Most House districts safe, not marginal Senators are less secure Voters support incumbents for several reasons Get more media coverage Greater name recognition (franking, visits, etc) Secure policies and programs for voters

Who is in Congress: Party Democrats controlled both houses in 25 Congresses and at least one in 29 Congresses between Gap between votes and seats: Republican vote is higher than number of seats won Argument that Dems redraw district lines in their favor Republicans run best in high turnout districts, Dems in low Incumbent advantage now benefits both Gap closed in stable pattern of Republican control in place  Electoral convulsions do periodically alter membership (as in 1994) Voters opposed incumbents due to budget deficits, legislative policies, bickering, scandal Also, 1990 redistricting and southern shift toward Republican

The 113 th Congress 541 elected officials from 50 states, five territories, and Washington, D.C. House: 435 members, 5 non-voting delegates, and 1 Resident Commissioner 232 Republicans 200 Democrats Senate: 100 members 53 Democrats 45 Republicans 2 Independents

The House by District

The Senate

The 113 th Congress Average Age Senate: 61 years House: 56 years Over age 70 House: 48 Senate: 23 Under age 40 House: 33 Senate: 2 Gender 20 female Senators, 81 female Representatives 60 are democrats First female combat veterans Sexual Orientation 7 openly gay, 1 bisexual /01/03/congress-diversity- 113-members-sworn- in_n_ html m/blog/2012/12/de mographics-of-the- 113th-congress/

The 113 th Congress Ethnicity ◦ Senate  1 African-American  1 Latino  3 Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders ◦ House  42 African-Americans  29 Latino  9 Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders  1 Native American  3 Middle Eastern (Lebanese)

The 113 th Congress Religion 54.7% Protestant ◦ Top Five Denominations  Roman Catholic 30.1%  Baptist 12.4%  Methodist 10.7%  Jewish 8.4%  Presbyterian 8.1% ◦ Most religiously diverse House in history  2 Muslims  2 Buddhists  1 Hindu  45 Jews  11 Mormons  1 Quaker  1 Atheist

The 113th Congress 113 Veterans Education 95% hold university degrees 27 Representatives and 1 Senator have no degree beyond a high school diploma 83 Representatives and 17 Senators have a Master’s degree as their highest degree 202 Congress people have a law degree 24 Representatives and 0 Senators have a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) 17 Representatives and 3 Senators have a medical degree

The 113 th Congress Former Occupations Doctor, dentist, nurse, veterinarian, psychologist, optometrist, clinical dietician, pharmacist Minister Governor, mayor, lieutenant governor, Former pro athletes Sheriff, police officer, state trooper, probation officer, volunteer firefighter, FBI agent, border patrol chief Accountant Astronaut, physicist, naval aviator, commander of an aircraft battle group, instructor at West Point, pilot of Marine One Organic farmer, rancher, fruit orchard worker Professional musician, screenwriter, comedian, documentary film maker Carpenter, furniture salesman, mortician, waitress, coroner, toll booth worker, taxicab driver, hotel clerk, ironworker

Do Members Represent Their Voters? Member behavior not always obvious Three theories of member behavior: 1. Representational View: members vote to please their constituents in order to secure reelection Applies when constituents have a clear view and legislators vote will attract attention (usually civil rights and social welfare rather than foreign policy) Can’t predict marginal districts or that members of safe districts will not be independent Even if member votes against constituency preference, they can still win reelection in other ways

Do Members Represent Their Voters? 2. Organizational View: when constituency interests are not at stake, members respond to cues from colleagues Party is principle cue – shared ideological ties cause each member to look to specific members for guidance (especially members of the sponsoring committee) 3. Attitudinal View: member’s ideology determines his/her vote House is more ideologically similar to “average voter” than Senate Senate less in tune with public opinion, more likely to support different bases of support in each state 1950’s-early 60’s: conservative institution dominated by southern states Mid 1960’s- late 70’s: rise of liberal senators and increasing decentralization present: rise of ideologically-based conservative Republicans

Ideology and Civility in Congress Members are increasingly divided by political ideology Attitudinal explanation of voting is of increasing importance Organizational explanation is decreasing importance Polarization among members has led to many more attacks and to less constructive negotiations of bills and policies