Congressional Career

Constituency careers pursue the goal of reelection, while Washington careers pursue the goals of influence in the House and the making of good public policy. When a House member is at the stage of a constituency career, they will most likely leave their families at home, and only be thinking about the goal of reelection. First-term members get to go home more frequently then their senior colleagues, however, most have not been a congressman yet. The first two years are spent getting reelected while the last two years are spent getting a district so they can be reelected. What is meant by congressman is being able pursue goals that go above and beyond just getting reelected. This seems like a viscous cycle due to the fact that a House member’s