Politicians' Beliefs about Voters

Bibliographic Data

ID3208014
AuthorsJohn W Kingdon (University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year1967
Volume61
Issue1
Pages137-145
Publication date1967-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1953881
OpenAlexW2326134590
LanguageEN
Citations received30
References cited12

The pattern of communications between representatives and constituents has become a matter of central concern to many students of legislative behavior. As Lewis A. Dexter points out, the statement that a Congressman "represents" his district is only shorthand for the fact that the Congressman "represents his image of the district or of his constituents." This image is established, according to Dexter, by the communications between representative and constituents: "what he hears from the district as he interprets it." Miller and Stokes explore directly Congressmen's images of their constituents' opinions. The representative's image of his district is significant because it may constitute part of the explanation for various important types of behavior, such as his roll call voting, the stands he takes on issues of public policy, and the formulation of his campaign strategies.A portion of a representative's image of his district is composed of his beliefs about voters, his explicit or implicit theory of voting behavior. Because his position is contingent upon the approval of a majority of voters in an election, he is likely to consider at least to some degree the effect that various of his decisions might have on election outcomes. In making such judgments, the representative probably makes some assumptions, conscious or not, about the manner in which voters make their choices. If he believes, for example, that voters pay close attention to his actions, he probably feels more constrained by his district's likely opinions than if he does not hold that belief

Congressman · Economics · Law and economics · Legislature · Miller · Political science · Politics · Position (finance · Sociology · Statement (logic · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Social Media and Politics

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