The United States has more elections than any other democracy. Voters not only fill positions that are typically appointive in other countries, such as judges, but they also select officials for many more layers of government, from the town or county to the federal level. Voters even select nominees for the ballot through primaries, instead of relying on party organizations to designate candidates. With the briefest intervals separating the close of one election cycle in November and the onset of another in February or March, Americans are never far from some candidate's plea: “Vote for me.”

Among the thousands of candidates who compete for elected office each year, those who run for Congress occupy a special place. The Congress is the crossroads of local and national politics, where representatives of state and district interests forge a national consensus on a staggering array of issues. Given this task, it is logical that most members of the House of Representatives and Senate begin their political careers in local and state government. In the House, for example, more than fifty percent of the members use the state legislature as a stepping stone to Capitol Hill. The House, in turn, serves as a proving ground for many who aspire to the Senate or a governorship, while the Senate fosters the ambitions of numerous presidential candidates. Thus, the Congress provides a useful vantage point for examining the experiences and goals of the men and women who become candidates in the United States.