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With the parties at virtual parity and the ideological gulf between them never greater, the stakes of majority control of Congress are extremely high.
Democrats do best in urban centers, Republicans in outer suburbs and rural areas.
Incumbents are safe, but party majorities are not. This fosters symbolic votes, message politics and little serious legislating in Congress.
Mandates are not objective realities but subjective interpretations of elections sold successfully by the winning candidate or party.
Partisanship particularly increased after the 1994 elections and then the appearance of the first unified Republican government since the 1950s.
In the House, Republican prospects have been buoyed by several successful rounds of redistricting, which have sharply reduced the number of... →
Redistricting is a deeply political process, with incumbents actively seeking to minimize the risk to themselves (via bipartisan gerrymanders) or to... →
Responsibility for overseeing the implementation of election law typically resides with partisan officials, many with public stakes in the election... →
Second, the President's popularity has not translated into increased support for the Republican party or for the policies and approaches on... →
The increase in straight-ticket party voting in recent years means that competitive congressional races can tip one way or the other depending on the... →
While Republican voters have remained universally supportive of their President, Democrats and Independents are returning to a more naturally... →
Incumbency adds a layer of advantage on top of this party dominance. But rather than foster an environment in which members of Congress feel free to... →
Party and ideology routinely trump institutional interests and responsibilities. Regular order - the set of rules, norms and traditions designed to... →
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