CONSTITUENCY INTEREST AND CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE PRESIDENT ON FOREIGN TRADE ROLL‐CALL VOTING

In: Politics & policy, Band 26, Heft 3, S. 571-591

Abstract

The literature on executive influence in Congress has paid little attention to the role of salient constituency interests in presidential support. District‐level data on economic activity is used here to model the effect of this interest on legislators' opposition to the president on foreign trade policy votes where the president's position would be detrimental to constituency groups. The constituency variable has a powerful effect on decision making to oppose the president. The results also reinforce the importance of factors commonly associated with presidential influence, as well as the effect of the partisan and policy contexts.