The Legislative Legacy of Congressional Campaigns

Do members of Congress follow through on the appeals they make in campaigns? The answer to this question lies at the heart of assessments of democratic legitimacy. This study demonstrates that, contrary to the conventional wisdom that candidates appeals are just cheap talk, campaigns actually have a lasting legacy in the content of representatives and senators behavior in office. Levels of promise-keeping vary in a systematic fashion across legislators, across types of activity, across time and across chamber. Moreover, legislators responsiveness to their appeals shapes their future electoral fortunes and career choices, and their activity on their campaign themes leaves a tangible trace in public policy outputs. Understanding the dynamics of promise-keeping thus has important implications for our evaluations of the quality of campaigns and the strength of representation in the United States.

Spis treści:
1. Promises to keep?
2. Campaigns as signals
3. Campaign appeals and legislative activity
4. Mechanisms underlying promise-keeping
5. Promise-making and promise-keeping on defense and environmental issues
6. The who, when, and where of follow-through
7. The electoral implications of promise-keeping
8. Promises and policymaking
9. Representation, responsiveness, and the electoral connection.