Representing the Disadvantaged
Group Interests and Legislator Reputation in US Congress

Explores why some members of Congress choose to build legislative reputations as advocates of disadvantaged groups.

Katrina F. McNally (Author)

9781108838221, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 November 2021

300 pages
23.6 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.6 kg

'The challenges faced by the disadvantaged are different from those of the more advantaged. To better understand these challenges and how they can be addressed, we need to know who are the disadvantaged, how they are systematically distinct from other groups in American society, and what drives disadvantaged group advocacy in Congress. Katrina McNally tackles these timely questions in Representing the Disadvantaged. This book is sure to make an important contribution to our understanding of representation and enduring challenges of achieving a more equitable democracy.' Stella M. Rouse, Professor in the Department of Government and Politics and Director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, University of Maryland

The limited attention Congress gives to disadvantaged or marginalized groups, including Black Americans, LGBTQ, Latinx, women, and the poor, is well known and often remarked upon. This is the first full-length study to focus instead on those members who do advocate for these groups and when and why they do so. Katrina F. McNally develops the concept of an 'advocacy window' that develops as members of Congress consider incorporating disadvantaged group advocacy into their legislative portfolios. Using new data, she analyzes the impact of constituency factors, personal demographics, and institutional characteristics on the likelihood that members of the Senate or House of Representatives will decide to cultivate a reputation as a disadvantaged group advocate. By comparing legislative activism across different disadvantaged groups rather than focusing on one group in isolation, this study provides fresh insight into the tradeoffs members face as they consider taking up issues important to different groups.

1. Introduction
2. Member Reputation and the Advocacy Window: An Integrated Theory of Representation
3. Member Reputation
4. The Choice to be a Disadvantaged Group Advocate in the House of Representatives
5. The Choice to be a Disadvantaged Group Advocate in the United States Senate
6. Reputation Building Tactics in the Senate and House of Representatives
7. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC], Politics & government [JP], Ethnic studies [JFSL]