Voters, Coalitions and Policy Representation in U.S. Senate Elections

本项目研究美国参议院的代表性， 三个视角。 这些因素是：（1）在个人层面上 新的工作将改善对选民的解释 选择和评估某些问题与投票的报告， 国家选举研究;（2）为选举研究制定平行模式， 选举结果的解释;（3）候选人之间的互动 行为和变化的选举联盟随着时间的推移。 这种多层次的方法旨在弥合微观和宏观之间的差距， 投票和选举文学。 选民决策研究 立法决策研究尚未整合， 从根本上不同的层面进行。 对联盟的关注， 选民如何加入和背叛他们，以回应候选人，以及如何 联盟的变化影响了国会中现任者的行为，承诺 在公民和行为之间提供必要的联系， 他们选出的代表。 通过将微观决策 公民与民选官员的宏观政策行为， 这项研究应增进我们对代表的了解， 在美国，这是一个基本的过程， 民主治理。 这项研究将调查美国参议院近100场竞选。 1982-1990年期间。 数据来源包括国家选举研究， 哥伦比亚广播公司/纽约时报选举日出口民调，内容分析家 州报纸的竞选报道，以及现任总统的点名得分， 各种政策指标。

This project examines representation in the U.S. Senate from three perspectives. These are: (1) at the level of individual voter decisions where new work will improve explanations of voter choice and assess certain problems with reports of the vote in the National Election Studies; (2) development of parallel models for the explanation of election outcomes; and, (3) the interaction of candidate behavior and changes in electoral coalitions over time. This multi-level approach is designed to bridge the micro-macro gap of the voting and elections literature. Studies of voter decision making and studies of legislative policy making have not been integrated, but proceed at fundamentally different levels. The focus on coalitions, how voters join and defect from them in response to candidates, and how changes in coalitions affect incumbent behavior in Congress, promises to provide the needed linkage between citizens and the behavior of their elected representatives. By linking the micro decisions of citizens with the macro-level policy behavior of elected officials, this study should increase our understanding of the representative process in the United States - - one of the fundamental processes of democratic governance. The study will examine almost 100 races for the U.S. Senate over the period 1982-1990. Data sources include the National Election Studies, CBS/New York Times election day exit polls, content analysis of home state newspaper campaign coverage, and incumbent roll call scores on various policy indices.