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Constituent Approval, Electoral Marginality, and Congressional Support for the President
Author(s) -
Cohen Jeffrey E.,
Rottinghaus Brandon
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12435
Subject(s) - confusion , political science , context (archaeology) , house of representatives , test (biology) , linkage (software) , public administration , law , psychology , legislature , geography , paleontology , biochemistry , chemistry , archaeology , gene , psychoanalysis , biology
Controversy exists concerning the effects of approval on congressional support for the president. One source of confusion is the paucity of constituent‐level data for testing the approval–support hypothesis. This study applies multilevel regression poststratification techniques on the Cooperative Congressional Election Study from 2006 through 2012 to estimate constituent approval for both the House and Senate at the member level. Using these data, we test a marginality hypothesis, which suggests that electorally marginal legislators will be more responsive to constituent approval than safe ones. Results indicate support for the approval–support linkage as well as the marginality hypothesis. The marginality effect operates differently across the two chambers and is stronger in the House. The conclusion puts the findings into context and suggests directions for future research.