POLI 341 - Seminar in Congressional Politics

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2022/23a: U.S. House and Senate Elections. This seminar is focused on U.S. congressional elections, with attention also devoted to interrelationships between voting for Congress and voting for president. The upcoming 2022 midterms will be given special emphasis, particularly with regard to the question of whether the Republicans will be able to wrest control of both legislative chambers from the Democrats. Further relevant is the extent to which Republicans endorsed by Trump against their less extremist opponents will be able to prevail, thus intensifying polarization beyond its present stratospheric levels and solidifying his grip on the party’s 2024 presidential nomination. Among the themes to be studied in the context of 2022 and the recent past are the following: 1) why forecasts of substantial GOP congressional gains from 2021-22 gerrymandering seem unlikely to occur this year, unlike in 2012; 2) the increase in the numbers of congressional women and how the quality of their representation compares with that by men; 3) the growing reliance of candidates upon independent sources of campaign spending like Super PACs and dark money groups; 4) the consequences of political polarization for the performance of Congress; and 5) how congressional representation of constituent interests bears upon reelection and vice versa. Richard Born.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS