The course project will be to profile a sitting member of the United States House of Representatives. You will research the member and their district and develop a profile. You will assess the fit between the member and their district in your profile. How well does the Representative represent their district?
The House member you select must have been originally elected in 2016 or earlier so that you will be able to find information on them. You should answer several questions:
- Does the member fit their district? Why or why not?
- What characteristics, if any, do the member and their constituents share?
- What does the district look like demographically?
- Is it primarily a rural district, an urban district, or something a little more mixed?
- Are most voters Democrats or Republicans?
- Are the constituents liberal, moderate, or conservative?
- Would they considered blue-collar or white-collar workers?
- What is the racial makeup of the district?
- What industries are located in the district?
- What organized groups support the member?
- How are these organized groups represented in the district, if at all?
- What special talents and experiences does the member have?
- What committees does the member serve on? Why?
- What types of legislation has the member sponsored?
- How do they vote on legislation likely to have a noticeable impact on their constituents?
- How effective does the member seem in representing their district?
- Does the member belong to any caucuses (Congressional management organizations)? Why those?
- What industries are located in the districts?