Conference paper
Predicting Partnerships: Congressional Issue Alignment and Legislative Collaboration
Benjamin F. Shambaugh Memorial Conference (09/27/2026–09/28/2026)
09/21/2026
Abstract
Congress is a collaborative institution. But how do members form these collaborative relationships? While existing literature points to social ties and common traits as links by which members establish working relationships, we suggest that a key connection is yet overlooked: policy-level agreement. In this project, we uncover the extent to which expressed issue-level positions translate to legislative collaboration. Specifically, we determine how positions members take during their campaigns predict their likelihood of working with other members who hold similar positions on a given issue. We find that a member who holds a specific position similar to the stance of one of her colleagues is more likely to cosponsor legislation on that topic with her similarly aligned colleague, even across party lines. This project provides a policy-level explanation for how members identify legislative collaborators and explains partnerships that otherwise might remain surprising — particularly those that bridge the ideological divide.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Predicting Partnerships: Congressional Issue Alignment and Legislative Collaboration
- Creators
- Colin Case (Author) - University of Iowa, Political ScienceEmily Cottle Ommundsen (Author) - University of Mississippi
- Resource Type
- Conference paper
- Conference
- Benjamin F. Shambaugh Memorial Conference (09/27/2026–09/28/2026)
- Number of pages
- 51 pages
- Language
- English
- Date presented
- 09/21/2026
- Academic Unit
- Center for Social Science Innovation; Political Science; Benjamin F Shambaugh Conference
- Record Identifier
- 9985226166902771
Metrics
1 Record Views