Publication

This study examines the electoral connection between members of Congress and their constituents through credit claiming for traditional pork barrel projects. The authors measure the practice directly, unlike previous studies based solely on federal spending in congressional districts as a measure of pork. They examine the impact of credit claiming for distributive benefits on voters’ electoral support for incumbent House members in the 2006 election. They find that credit claiming did not unconditionally endear members to their constituents. The effects of pork on voters’ support for the incumbent were frequently negative and mediated by both the voters' and the candidates' parties.