minimal allocation of scarce resources by the representative herself. Instead, staff and
news organizations do much to promote the representative. All representatives are
allocated staff, and all place some staff in the district. In addition to handling casework,
district and Washington staff monitors the local media, and look for opportunities to
promote the representative on local television, radio, and newspapers. All representatives
make return to their districts, and when they do so their staff promotes the events they
attend, hoping to attract media attention. News organizations are willing participants in
helping the incumbent attain visibility. News organizations seek out commentary from
representatives on local and national issues because they deem them newsworthy, of
interest to viewers, listeners, and readers. For many decades the congressional schedule
is designed to accommodate trips to their home districts by members. Free, convenient
parking is available at Reagan National Airport, airfares are covered by the government,
staff makes the rigors of travel easy. As Congress suspends work to allow members to
take long weekends, over holidays, and during the electoral season, there is little reason
for a member to no do as all members do to return to the district. Far from being an
activity practiced by the most electorally vulnerable, the establishment of a personal vote
is developed by all, whether needed or not. In sum, the cost to the representative of
developing a personal vote is so small that it is insensitive to the electoral need to develop
it.
The notion that representatives behavior is strategic—or rational in the sense that
it is purposeful, goal-oriented, sensitive to constraints and opportunities—is an approach
by which scholars commonly use to understand congressman’s behavior. While the low
cost associated with developing a personal vote makes this approach less useful to
understanding with respect to congressional elections. For understanding other facets of
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Convention