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"The symbolic importance of Barack Obama's election is without question. But beyond symbolism, does the election of African-American politicians matter? Grose argues that it does and presents a unified theory of representation. Electing African-American legislators yields more federal dollars and congressional attention directed toward African-American voters. However, race and affirmative action gerrymandering have no impact on public policy passed in Congress. Grose is the first to examine a natural experiment and exceptional moment in history in which black legislators - especially in the U.S. South - represented districts with a majority of white constituents. This is the first systematic examination of the effect of a legislator's race above and beyond the effect of constituency racial characteristics. Grose offers policy prescriptions, including the suggestion that voting rights advocates, the courts, and redistricters draw "black decisive districts," electorally competitive districts that are likely to elect African Americans"--

A nascent but growing research area examines political institutions through the use of field experiments. I consider why field experimentation has been used infrequently in the study of political institutions and note that some research questions are not amenable to field experimentation. I review areas of research inquiry where field experimentation has enhanced scholarly knowledge about political institutions and representation. These areas include the study of race, representation, and bias in legislatures and courts; and policy responsiveness and legislative accountability. I synthesize this research by examining puzzles that emerge between the field experimental and observational work. I conclude with suggestions for promising research avenues, including the use of field experiments to study the bureaucracy. The discipline's understanding of political institutions could be improved with a greater emphasis on field experimental work.

A nascent but growing research area examines political institutions through the use of field experiments. I consider why field experimentation has been used infrequently in the study of political institutions and note that some research questions are not amenable to field experimentation. I review areas of research inquiry where field experimentation has enhanced scholarly knowledge about political institutions and representation. These areas include the study of race, representation, and bias in legislatures and courts; and policy responsiveness and legislative accountability. I synthesize this research by examining puzzles that emerge between the field experimental and observational work. I conclude with suggestions for promising research avenues, including the use of field experiments to study the bureaucracy. The discipline's understanding of political institutions could be improved with a greater emphasis on field experimental work. Adapted from the source document.

Did voters in Durham, North Carolina divide along racial lines in the high-profile May 2, 2006, primary election for Durham district attorney? The results of an analysis of the primary vote by race suggest there were not major racial divisions: winner Mike Nifong received about the same percentage of support from African-American voters as from voters who are not African American. However, it seems likely, and I argue here, that Nifong used the high-profile prosecution of the Duke lacrosse rape case to win over some African-American and White voters in what otherwise might have been a low-key, low-information local election. This case and its allegations are sordid and appalling, and have garnered substantial national media attention. I contend that Nifong aggressively pursued prosecution as a way of representing what he perceived was his constituents' interests in justice for the alleged victim (though some have subsequently questioned his prosecution of the case); this aggressive prosecution's public nature likely had electoral ramifications. Further, supporting recent work on race and electoral politics, I show that traditional racial cues were critically important in other concurrently held Durham elections, though not in Nifong's race for district attorney. Nifong, a White candidate, defeated another White candidate and an African-American candidate in a county that is 51% White and 40% African-American (based on those identifying as only one race in the 2000 census).

Are minority press outlets more likely to provide coverage of minority legislators than white legislators? Does this coverage translate across racial and ethnic lines? This article assesses whether minority members of the 107th Congress (2001–02) are covered by minority media sources more than white legislators. The author examines the frequency of media coverage of Latino,African-American, and Asian-American legislators in the Latino press, the African-American press, and the Asian-American press.The author argues and finds that minority elected officials are more likely to receive coverage in newspapers geared specifically to minority communities. Minority legislators are more likely to be covered by minority media, and these results are robust across minority media.The author also finds that minority media are more likely to give coverage to legislators from other minority groups as well. African-American and Latino legislators receive more coverage from Latino media outlets than other legislators,while the same results are found for African-American media outlets. Asian-American media outlets are more likely to cover both Asian-American and African-American legislators.

Objective. Does the race of a legislator or does the black population of a district best predict legislative roll‐call voting in the interests of African Americans? Due to methodological limitations, no prior study has found that both the race of the legislator and the black district population are significant predictors of congressional roll‐call voting. Drawing on post Shaw v. Reno/Miller v. Johnson congressional districts (with greater data variance), I examine the effect of these two racial representation variables on roll‐call voting in the 104th–106th Congresses.Methods. Linear regression with random effects is employed in two statistical models.Results. Even when the black district population and party are considered, the presence of an African‐American legislator leads to greater substantive representation of black constituents.Conclusion. Districting plans that maximize the election of black legislators and Democrats are the most important for the aggregate enhancement of liberal voting in Congress, while districting plans that maximize black district populations and Democrats are the most important for the aggregate enhancement of civil rights voting records in Congress.

Objective. Does the race of a legislator or does the black population of a district best predict legislative roll-call voting in the interests of African Americans? Due to methodological limitations, no prior study has found that both the race of the legislator and the black district population are significant predictors of congressional roll-call voting. Drawing on post Shaw v. Reno/Miller v. Johnson congressional districts (with greater data variance), I examine the effect of these two racial representation variables on roll-call voting in the 104th-106th Congresses. Methods. Linear regression with random effects is employed in two statistical models. Results. Even when the black district population & party are considered, the presence of an African-American legislator leads to greater substantive representation of black constituents. Conclusion. Districting plans that maximize the election of black legislators & Democrats are the most important for the aggregate enhancement of liberal voting in Congress, while districting plans that maximize black district populations & Democrats are the most important for the aggregate enhancement of civil rights voting records in Congress. 2 Tables, 1 Appendix, 37 References. Adapted from the source document.