Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-rnpqb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-25T16:24:28.290Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Static Ambition in a Changing World: Legislators' Preparations for, and Responses to, Redistricting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Robert G. Boatright
Robert G. Boatright*
Affiliation:
Clark University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How do members of Congress anticipate and prepare for redistricting? I present data from the 1992 redistricting cycle that indicate that one reason why we rarely see changes in representation after redistricting is that incumbents change both their legislative activities and their campaigning prior to the first post-redistricting election. To examine incumbents' behavioral anticipation of redistricting in more detail, I also present a case study of incumbents' activities prior to the 1998 court-ordered congressional redistricting in North Carolina. I find that these incumbents participated actively in the redistricting process and made behavioral adjustments before they began to represent their new districts officially. These types of adjustments were often subtle, including changes in casework, local projects, and the allocation of staff and campaign resources.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , Winter 2004 , pp. 436 - 454
Copyright
Copyright © Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Appendix: Interviews Conducted for the North Carolina Case Study

Dwyer, Julie, Chief of Staff to Representative Bob Etheridge (NC-2). August 1, 2000, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Downs, Glen, Chief of Staff to Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. (NC-3). July 24, 2000, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Moore, Billy, Chief of Staff to Representative David Price (NC-4). July 27, 2000, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Hans, Peter, Chief of Staff to Representative Richard M. Burr (NC-5). August 1, 2000, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
McDonald, Ed, Chief of Staff to Representative Howard Coble (NC-6). July 27, 2000, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Mitchell, Dean, Chief of Staff to Representative Mike McIntyre (NC-7). August 3, 2000, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Luckadoo, Tommy, District Director to Representative Cass Ballenger (NC-10). By telephone July 31, 2000, Hickory, NC.Google Scholar

References

Abramowitz, Alan, and Alexander, Brad. 2004. “Incumbency, Redistricting, and the Decline of Competition in Congressional Elections: Evidence from the 2002 Midterm Election.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association, Portland, OR.Google Scholar
Ansolabehere, Stephen, Gerber, Alan, and Snyder, James M.. 2002. “Equal Votes, Equal Money: Court-Ordered Redistricting and the Distribution of Public Expenditures in the American States.” American Political Science Review 96:779–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ansolabehere, Stephen, Snyder, James M., and Stewart, Charles. 2000. “Old Voters, New Voters, and the Personal Vote: Using Redistricting to Measure the Incumbency Advantage.” American Journal of Political Science 44:17–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bickers, Kenneth, and Potoski, Matthew. 2000. “District Lines and Battle Lines: Redistricting and the Politics of Distributive Program Awards.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Born, Richard. 1985. “Partisan Intentions and Election Day Realities in the Congressional Redistricting Process.” American Political Science Review 79:305–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul. 1984. “Progressive Ambition in the House: A Probabilistic Approach.” Journal of Politics 46:556–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, Charles. 1975. “Redistricting and Congressional Stability, 1962-1972.” Journal of Politics 37:569–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, David, and Cain, Bruce E.. 1992. Congressional Redistricting: Comparative and Theoretical Perspectives. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Cain, Bruce E. 1985. “Assessing the Partisan Effects of Redistricting.” American Political Science Review 79:320–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cain, Bruce E., Ferejohn, John, and Fiorina, Morris. 1987. The Personal Vote. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, Charles, Epstein, David, and O'Halloran, Sharyn. 1996. “Do Majority-Minority Districts Enhance Substantive Black Representation in Congress?” American Political Science Review 90:794–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canon, David. 1999. Race, Redistricting, and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black Majority Districts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, Philip D. 1991. Politics in America: The 102nd Congress. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Duncan, Philip D., and Lawrence, Christine C.. 1993. Politics in America: The 103rd Congress. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Duncan, Philip D., and Lawrence, Christine C.. 1995. Politics in America: The 104th Congress. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Duncan, Philip D., and Nutting, Brian. 1999. Politics in America: The 106th Congress. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P. 1978. Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Glazer, Amihai, and Robbins, Marc. 1986. “Congressional Responsiveness to Constituency Change.” American Journal of Political Science 29:259–73.Google Scholar
Grose, Christian. 2000. “The Effect of Court-Ordered Racial Redistricting on Pork Project Allocation in Congress.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Groseclose, Timothy J., Levitt, Steven D., and Snyder, James M.. 1999. “Comparing Interest Group Scores across Time and Chambers: Adjusted ADA Scores for the U.S. Congress.” American Political Science Review 93:15–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1997. The Politics of Congressional Elections. 4th ed. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Lublin, David. 1997. The Paradox of Representation: Racial Gerrymandering and Minority Interests in Congress. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Mayhew, David. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Niemi, Richard, and Winsky, Laura. 1992. “The Persistence of Partisan Redistricting Effects in Congressional Elections in the 1970s and 1980s.” Journal of Politics 54:565–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Overby, L. Marvin, and Cosgrove, Kenneth M.. 1996. “Unintended Consequences? Racial Redistricting and the Representation of Minority Interests.” Journal of Politics 58:540–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poole, Keith T. 1998. “Changing Minds? Not in Congress!” GSIA Working Paper #1997-22. Carnegie Mellon University.Google Scholar
Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 1997. Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Robertson, Andrew W. 1983. “American Redistricting in the 1980s: The Effect on the Mid-term Elections.” Electoral Studies 2:113–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohde, David. 1979. “Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition: The Case of Members of the United States House of Representatives.” American Journal of Political Science 23:1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothenberg, Lawrence S., and Sanders, Mitchell S.. 1999. “Redistricting and Legislative Responsiveness.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 1985. “Results of Partisan Redistricting in Seven U.S. States during the 1970s.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 10:259–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar