When a member’s ideology perfectly overlaps with that of her constituents, the two circles are exactly aligned. House members follow their donors, not their districtsThe more money a House member gets from people outside the district, the less reflective the member’s ideology is of his or her constituents’ ideology. The members who depend on outside money and are the most out of alignment with their districts represent moderate districts. The CCES data reveal that, on average, in-district donors’ ideology is closer to outside donors’ ideology than to the average ideology of voters in each party. The more money a member of Congress gets from donors outside the district, the less that member represents his or her constituents’ preferences.

Source: Washington Post August 17, 2016 11:03 UTC