ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the pre- and extralegislative features of the members' lives and suggests that these attributes will influence the ways that senators and representatives conduct the business of Congress and the nation. Congressional elections focus attention, first, on bicameralism. House-Senate differences in constituency and term, in short, lead to contrasts in campaign activity and performance between the members of the two chambers. Congressional candidates retain a vital interest in the ways the legislatures draw constituency boundaries; they continue to have a personal stake in securing a district in which their chances at the polls are enhanced. In any case, they will have to consider the nature of the district in designing their campaign strategies. Political action committees have become an increasingly prominent feature of the campaign finance landscape. Campaigns are designed to win votes, and candidates design their strategies to do just that.
