Using survey data in the states from 1981 to 2000, we explore the nature of public sentiment toward members of the U.S. Senate, compare aggregate senator approval to congressional approval, and examine the impact of several factors that may influence approval of both senators and their legislative institution. We hypothesize that presidential approval, partisanship, consumer expectations, inter-branch discord, national scandals, and rally-around-the-flag events will influence both senator and congressional approval. We find evidence that supports the conventional argument that constituents “love” their senators but “hate” Congress. Senators appear to be relatively insulated from factors that sway presidential and congressional approval.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbramowitzAlan I.1988. “Explaining Senate Election Outcomes.” American Political Science Review82:385–403.
2.
AlesinaAlbertoRosenthalHoward. 1989. Partisan Politics, Divided Government, and the Economy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
3.
BakerRoss K.1988. House and Senate. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
4.
BinderSarah A.SmithSteven S.. 1998. “Political Goals and Procedural Choice in the Senate.” Journal of Politics60:398–416.
5.
BornRichard. 1990. “The Shared Fortunes of Congress and Congressmen: Members May Run from Congress, but They Can't Hide.” Journal of Politics52:1223–41.
6.
CampbellAngusConversePhilip E.MillerWarren E.StokesDonald E.. 1960. The American Voter. New York: John Wiley.
7.
DurbinJ.1970. “Testing for Serial Correlation in Least Squares Regression When Some of the Regressors Are Lagged Dependent Variables.” Econometrica38:410–21.
8.
DurrRobert H.GilmourJohn B.WolbrechtChristina. 1997. “Explaining Congressional Approval.” American Journal of Political Science41:175–207.
9.
FennoRichard F.Jr.1975. If, as Ralph Nader Says, Congress Is ‘The Broken Branch,’ How Come We Love Our Congressmen So Much? In Congress in Change: Evolution and Reform, ed. OrnsteinNorman J.. New York: Praeger.
10.
FennoRichard F.Jr.1978. Homestyle: House Members in their Districts. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
11.
GerberAlan. 1998. “Estimating the Effect of Campaign Spending on Senate Election Outcomes Using Instrumental Variables.” American Political Science Review. 92:401–11.
HibbingJohn R.Theiss-MorseElizabeth. 1995. Congress as Public Enemy: Public Attitudes toward American Political Institutions. New York: Cambridge University Press.
14.
HibbingJohn R.Theiss-MorseElizabeth. 1998. “The Media's Role in Public Negativity toward Congress: Distinguishing Emotional Reactions and Cognitive Evaluations.” American Journal of Political Science42:475–98.
15.
KahnKim FridkinKenneyPatrick J.. 1997. “A Model of Candidate Evaluations in Senate Elections: The Impact of Campaign Intensity.” Journal of Politics59:1173–205.
16.
KelleyStanleyJr.MirerThad. 1974. “A Simple Act of Voting.” American Political Science Review68:572–91.
17.
KramerGerald H.1971. “Short-term Fluctuations in U.S. Voting Behavior,1896–1964.”American Political Science Review65:131–43.
18.
KuklinskiJames H.WestDarrell M.. 1981. “Consumer Expectations and Voting Behavior in United States House and Senate Elections.” American Political Science Review75:436–47.
19.
LeeFrances. 2000. “Senate Representation and Coalition Building in Distributive Politics.” American Political Science Review94:59–72.
20.
LodgeMiltonMcGrawKathleen M.StrohPatrick. 1989. “An Impression-Driven Model of Candidate Evaluation.” American Political Science Review83:399–419.
21.
LodgeMiltonSteenbergenMarco R.BrauShawn. 1995. “The Responsive Voter: Campaign Information and the Dynamics of Candidate Evaluation.” American Political Science Review89:309–26.
22.
MacKuenMichael B.EriksonRobert S.StimsonJames A.. 1989. “Macropartisanship.” American Political Science Review83:1125–42.
23.
MacKuenMichael B.EriksonRobert S.StimsonJames A.. 1992. “Peasants or Bankers: The American Electorate and the U.S. Economy.” American Political Science Review86:597–611.
24.
MacKuenMichael B.EriksonRobert S.StimsonJames A.. 2001. The Macro Polity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
25.
MatthewsDonald R.1960. U.S. Senators and Their World. New York: Vintage Books.
26.
MayhewDavid R.1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
27.
MillerWarren E.ShanksJ. Merrill. 1996. The New American Voter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
28.
NiemiRichard G.StanleyHarold W.. 2000. Vital Statistics on American Politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
29.
PattersonKelly D.MaglebyDavid B.. 1992. “The Polls—Poll Trends: Public Support for Congress.” Public Opinion Quarterly56:539–51.
30.
SinclairBarbara. 1986. “Senate Styles and Senate Decision Making.” Journal of Politics. 48:877–908.
31.
StimsonJames A.1991. Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
32.
WestlyeMark C.1983. “Competitiveness of Senate Seats and Voting Behavior in Senate Elections.” American Journal of Political Science27:253–83.
