Doctoral Disseration/Book Project
My dissertation, entitled "Home Field Advantage: Roots, Reelection, and Representation in the Modern Congress", explores the ways in which members of Congress use their local roots in the district to relate to and win the support of their constituents in ways that transcend partisanship. I argue and find that a legislator's strong pre-Congress local roots in their districts help them win elections and thereby affect their constituent-oriented behavior.