Same -state ideological distance and *representation in the United States Senate

To explore the connection between same-state ideological distance and representational behavior in the Senate, this dissertation compares the behavior of ideologically divergent senator-pairs with that of ideologically convergent senator-pairs. Based on Heinz Eulau and Paul Karps' conceptualization of representation and inspired by Robert Bernstein's work on same-state Senate pairs, this dissertation examines paired Senate behavior for ten states across three years in the late 1990s. In exploring the paired operations of senators in the areas of roll-call voting, bill sponsorship, interoffice communication on Capitol Hill, travel patterns, casework, and interoffice communication in the home state, this research assesses when the ideological distance between senators from the same state is connected to representation and when it is not. This dissertation finds that same-state ideological distance is most relevant inside the Beltway. The strongest linkages are with roll-call voting. No statistically significant connections exist for bill sponsorship, and the several linkages with interoffice communication on Capitol Hill are modest at best. In some cases, party difference must also be known to assess the full impact of ideological distance. Same-state ideological distance is less relevant outside the Beltway. For travel patterns, what connections might exist turn out to be statistically insignificant. No connection with ideological distance exists for casework, and only a slight linkage exists with interoffice communication in the home state. Thus, the ideological distance between senators from the same state can be an important component in Senate representation, but it is not relevant in many aspects of representation. The paired level of analysis reveals that independent political factors like same-state ideological distance are not always associated with the total representation that constituents receive from their two senators. Despite the presence of some similar and mutually supportive behavior within same-state pairs of senators, the Senate is still primarily an individualist institution where across-the-board alliances do not exist.