Midterm Congressional Elections Revisited: A Test of the Theory

Midterm congressional elections provide an interesting testing ground for theories of voting and elections in America. Free from the contamination of national personalities and stylized issues that epitomize presidential campaigns, midterm elections provide a cleaner issue environment for investigating the effects of systematic short-term forces on congressional elections. The seemingly inevitable Eagleton fiascos and PJayboy interviews give way to more stable-and one might add more important-concerns such as the economy and the government’s performance.’ At the turn of the century James Bryce, in describing American political institutions to his British audience, subscribed to the view that midterm elections provide the citizenry with an opportunity to judge the government: