The Electoral Connection and the Congress

Abstract

Mayhew is interested in examining how we should study legislative behavior, what assumptions we should make, and what conclusions we should draw from these assumptions. He argues that first and foremost, reelection is the proximate goal of every member, and it must be achieved before other goals can be considered. He clearly notes that the goal isn't necessarly vote maximization because to win all the votes might be neccesarily costly and MC's operate in a world of uncertainty. Mayhew identified three types of activities that Congressman engage in: advertising, credit claiming (especially in relation to particularized benefits), and position taking. He concludes by noting that committee structure and output as well as parties are both geared towards this reelection incentive as well. Because members are single-minded seekers of reelection, we can start to study them as such.