ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with three vivid examples of what political scientist David Mayhew calls the electoral connection to the legislative work of members of Congress. It looks at the fundamentals of the electoral context from the perspective of a potential candidate for the House or Senate. The chapter also looks at the eligibility requirements for the job, what sorts of people choose to run, what motivates candidates, and the candidate recruitment efforts undertaken by the two parties. It also looks at the geographical context of congressional elections. The chapter covers the process of apportioning House seats among the states, as well as the rules governing the drawing of district lines. As chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee, former representative John Murtha secured 48 earmarks amounting to $150.5 million in the 2008 military spending bill. Senator Thad Cochran, Republican of Mississippi, doesn't get on the talk shows and rarely makes high-profile floor speeches.
