Madison's Republic
Representation
Congress
Elections
Potpourri
100

This kind of bias can occur when different demographic groups participate in politics at different rates

Resource bias

100

This state has 67 times more representation per person than California in the US Senate

Wyoming

100

Per Mayhew, members of Congress are primarily motivated by this

Winning reelection

100

The 2000 and 2016 presidential elections were examples of something which has happened 5 times in US history

An electoral inversion

100

This member of the Supreme Court is currently the median (pivotal) justice

Brett Kavanaugh

200

Madison co-drafted this plan and unsuccessfully proposed it at the Constitutional Convention, whereby the House of Representatives would elect members of other branches

Virginia Plan

200

The process whereby the two parties polarized on race & civil rights

Racial realignment
200

This spatial model combines legislator ideology and left-right policy positions to predict legislative policy outcomes

The pivotal politics model

200

While reelection rates remain high, this advantage is declining in congressional elections

The incumbency advantage

200

The Supreme Court increasingly issues rulings using this secretive process, rather than the traditional merits docket

The shadow docket

300

Bicameralism, federalism, and checks & balances all contribute to this bias in American policy-making

The status quo bias

300

In this theory of representation, business interest groups are represented more strongly than any other set of actors

Biased pluralism
300

This state is expected to lose the most House districts (5) after the 2030 census and reapportionment

California

300

Another word for the cognitive shortcuts that help voters behave "rationally" despite being ignorant about the candidates

Heuristics

300

The emergence of of this party in the 1820s signaled the end of the "Era of Good Feelings"

Democratic Party

400

Madison famously claims that if men were these, no government would be necessary

Angels

400

Eric Holder (fmr AG), Newt Gingrich (fmr Speaker), Lloyd Austin (SecDef), & Rex Tillerson (fmr SoS) are examples of this problem

The revolving door

400

This two-word phrase can describes when representatives do not act in the interests of the faction they represent

Agency loss

400

The act of voting for a presidential candidate from one party and a congressional candidate from another is an example of this

Split-ticket voting

400

In 1916, voters in New Jersey counties economically affected by this unusual event were less likely to vote to reelect Woodrow Wilson

Shark attacks

500

Madison proposed a constitutional amendment limiting House districts to this many constituents

30,000

500

This type of polarization refers to the increasing distrust and animosity between partisans

Affective polarization

500

This Senate leader ended the filibuster for all presidential nominees (except SCOTUS) in 2013

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

500

This Republican president "won" the 1876 election without winning the national popular vote by making a deal with southern Democrats to end Reconstruction

Rutherford B. Hayes

500

This Montana senator humiliated the director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) when he testified before Congress in 2017

Senator Jon Tester

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