The congressional behaviors of Representative Maxine Waters, a Democratic representative for the 43rd district of California, and that of Democratic Representative Darren Soto are both inspired by the goal of reelection. This common goal of reelection coined by David Mayhew is achieved differently by each representative depending on the demographics, political leaning, and incumbency of the district. When comparing the legislative behavior of Darren Soto, the representative of Florida’s newly drawn 9th congressional district, and that of Representative Maxine Waters from California’s 43rd Congressional district, this holding becomes evident. This paper will argue that while both Rep. Waters, and Rep. Soto are inspired by the common goal of …show more content…
In 2015, Florida underwent a redistricting process after the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the district map drawn by the Republican legislature was unconstitutional(MCI Maps). This new district drawing resulted in a shift in party politics within many districts towards either party, or in some cases newly balanced districts with seats open for either party. Along with these shifts, there also became a lack of established constituencies that Fenno argues are crucial for Members of Congress. While a winner of newly drawn district will have automatically have geographic and personal constituencies, they will have to work to gain reelection and primary constituencies. The way to do so is through having a strong homestyle that fits the needs of your district, along with direct impacts on Congress in order to be able to credit claim during time of reelections. Looking at the voting history the 9th district where representative Soto was elected, its clear that the encompassing areas are only slightly left leaning. Data shows that for the past three presidential elections the district has continually voted in favor of the Democratic presidential candidate with a margin of only 11.8%(Daily Kos Elections). Also, the district has only slightly leaned to the left compared to the nation resulting in its average PVI for the past three elections to be 3.7 in favor of Democrats: meaning that there is a presence of conservatism in the district. This split in ideology, demands that Rep. Soto has to appease not only his liberal constituents, but those who are conservative as well: seeing that he does not have a large margin for reelection. To tap into this base, Rep. Soto has to focus on bipartisan issues that bring both sides together in agreement. The easiest way to do so in the 9th district is to focus on agriculture. The 9th
In contrast, hyperpluralism is a theory that explains politics in a more relatable way. No one governs instead power is “thinly scattered”. Lawrence states how “the exercise of political power has become a highly competitive tug-of-war between institutions, policymakers, political parties, numerous interest groups, and voters” (14). There are ample amounts of evidence in California politics. There are several components that contribute to this evidence such as individualism in political life, growing diversity of group interests, and a change in the “nature of majoritarian
The claim that is correct is claim 3. The Jalisco Block is convergent to the Rivera Plate and divergent from the North American Plate which best explains the patterns of Earthquakes and Volcanoes on the Jalisco Block. I believe at this claim is correct because fro any plates to be convergent to one plate, they must be divergent to another plate. This case happens for the Jalisco Block. The card that support this statement is card A which tells us that scientists found the same rock on either side of the Tz Rift Zone where they were originally formed a team he same time at the same place when today they are 24 km apart. This matters because it shows that there is volcanic activity at divergent plate boundaries and it also proves the the
Forgette Richard, Garner Andrew, and Winkle John. “Do redistricting principles and practices affect US state legislative electoral competition? State Politics and policy quarterly, 20(9) (2009): 151 175.
The term gerrymandering refers to the practice of altering voting districts in order to achieve electoral results favorable to one person or party, usually the incumbent politician or party creating the new voting regions.1 This term, dating back to 1812, is an established method for incumbent politicians to improve their heresthetical “defense,” by manipulating the dimensions of the political landscape.2 This tactic is extremely common in the United States and a prime example of politicians acting as manipulators. This essay will argue that politicians are manipulators, as evidenced by the gerrymandering of voting districts to improve odds of maintaining power, and opposition attempts to counteract this electoral
The inter workings of Congress have been studied extensively by Richard Fenno and David R. Mayhew. Mayhew’s study of Congress took place in Washington, while Richard Fenno conducted his research by following politicians within their congressional district. Mayhew attributes three primary goals to congressmen- getting reelected, achieving influence within Congress and making “good Policy”. Fenno also attributes three basic goals, having influence inside the House than other congressmen. Second, helping their constituents and thereby insuring their reelection, and lastly helping make good policy. The purpose of this paper is to research a member of Congress and to make a direct connection between his activity in Washington and his home district. The paper will answer whether the congressmen is a delegate or trustee. Are the actions a pursuit for reelection? Are the committee assignments a path for movement within the House or outside? What legislation has he/she sponsored or co-sponsored and does it directly reflect his/her districts political view. And finally, do major industries and interest groups within his/she district affect the way he/she votes.
In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In "If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?" author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about
Recently, many political scientists have argued over whether today’s Congress is centralizing or decentralizing. Centralization allows Congress to act quickly and decisively, but at the expense of the members of Congress and their constituents, while decentralization protects and enhances the interests of individual members and their constituents, but at the expense of its ability to act quickly and decisively. At its birth, Congress was created as a decentralized body, and although it has fluctuated over the years, the Constitution, congressional incentive for reelection, the committee system, and weak central leadership has certainly maintained such a decentralized institution.
“ Congress: The Electoral Connection”, the article is written by David R. Mayhew. Mayhew represents his view about Congressmen activities. These politicians discuss certain issues going on within the country and to emphasize people to focus on their listed issues and get attention of public in order to take position in House.
The United States Congress appropriated electoral power to Florida’s 26th Congressional District as of January 2013 as a response to the 2010 Census. The first winner of the electoral district, Joe Garcia (Democrat), was appointed the 113th Congressman on January 2, 2013. Following his two-year term in office, Carlos Curbelo (Republican), now holds the position as the 114th Congressman for the 26th District.
This research examines the disjuncture between Hispanic strength in population and Hispanic participation in politics. I examine the nature of this disjuncture: its severity, its causes, and its consequences. Hispanics currently comprise 11.2% of the U.S. population, but the Hispanic vote in the 1998 elections comprised only 4.7% of all ballots cast. The situation is even bleaker when considering Hispanic representation in Congress. Currently, less than four percent of U.S. House members are Latino. Add to that clear disjuncture the fact that two of the Hispanic Congressmen do not even possess the ability to vote and that there is not a single Hispanic Senator, and we see that
In 2013, Rep. Peter DeFazio’s (D, OR-4) party unity score was 94% (Weyl, 183). Party unity as defined in the textbook, Congress and Its Members, are votes in which the majority of voting Republicans oppose a majority of voting Democrats. In other words, average votes Peter DeFazio casted with the Democratic majority against the Republican majority. Furthermore, party affiliation as well as ideological positions, and the constituency pressure are strongly correlated with congressmen’s voting decisions (Davidson, Oleskek, & Lee 2014, 255).
A congressional district is an electoral division of a state, electing and entitled to send one member to the United State House of Representatives. Districting is the initial set district, whereas redistricting is the process of drawing district boundaries after the decennial census and new population changes. Redistricting is a political process that affects the fortunes of incumbent House members, state legislators,
Florida is a popular state when discussing political controversy. The media rushes to Florida during congressional and presidential elections due to its reputation as a conflicted state. Here we find the southern regions to be rather liberal and voting democratically, and on the other hand, we see the northern regions voting mostly conservatively. This creates controversy in the United States because Florida is a major determining factor of what kind of outcome we are going to get for a presidential election. This can be especially stressful for those running for office either presidentially or for the state specifically because they are unaware of their chances of gaining the states support and being elected into office.
Mrs. Felipe Lopez, from William J. Brennan High School has shown himself to be the best candidate for the Colin Powell Award. Mr. Lopez has devoted time and energy to his community, military personnel and most importantly his students and has been a huge supporter encouraging students to seek the Armed Forces as an option after graduation. Mr. Lopez support have generated over a 100 leads, he has personally spearheaded events targeting students to explore all options after high school and has been my number one influencer at Brennan High School. Mr. Lopez knowledge and expertise in higher education has been a huge supporter encouraging students to seek an education within the Air Force and earn a Community College of the Air Force degree.
Proposition 140 created term limits for assembly members and state senators. Assembly members are only able to serve three two-year terms or 6 years while state senators are able to serve two four- year terms or 8 years (Van Vechen, 32). Another effect of Proposition 140 was that it limited the allocated budget to legislative staff (Lustig, 62). Proposition 140 is one of the tools that helped undo the reform done by Jessie Unruh in the 1960’s. This is problematic for it hinders the legislature to do their job efficiently by having less staff. Other propositions attempt to change the representation of Californians, which ultimately changes the legislators we see in the legislature. Proposition 118, required redistricting to be approved by two thirds of both chambers. The passage of this proposition would have been catastrophic to redistricting, for it simulates the same problem that the legislature deals with when it comes to passing new revenues. In different propositions, we see that the major effects are the only ones highlighted when in fact, the smaller details of the proposition also have drastic