Candidate Positioning in U.S. House Elections

We analyze the ideological positioning of House candidates running for office from 1874 to 1996. We find that throughout this period congressional candidates have primarily espoused the ideology associated with the national party, moderating very little to accommodate local ideological conditions. District-by-district competition exerts some pressure on candidates to fit with their constituents, and there have been times in American history when this pressure has been more acute than others. From the 1940s to 1970s, candidates became much more responsive to district interests, but that degree of responsiveness waned in the 1980s and 1990s.