(Herrnson 2004; Mann 1978; Mann and Wolfinger 1980), following former Speaker of the
House Thomas P. O’Neill’s often-repeated axiom that “all politics is local.” But as Abramowitz
(1985,33) notes in his examination of midterm elections, “national issues can become local
issues if these issues are raised by the local candidates.” Convergence of national issues and the
local campaign dynamics gives greater weight to the former than would be felt otherwise, and
the most prominent “national issue” of a midterm congressional election is presidential
performance. An effective campaign strategy for the candidate of the party opposite of the
president’s is tapping voter discontent by criticizing the administration and linking the
presidential party candidate to the administration’s unpopular policies. In this way, the local
campaign becomes a referendum on the president not simply because the electorate punishes the
president but through the actions of the candidates in the local district.
Midterm congressional elections look differently, however, when Senate elections are
examined. Public assessments of the president significantly affect a voter’s choice between
candidates of the president’s and opposing political parties but candidates’ messages about the
administration and its policies have little bearing on voters’ choices. In contests for the Senate,
candidates must employ other appeals to sway voters.
How are these conflicting findings concerning House and Senate campaigns to be
reconciled? One possible explanation relates to the voters’ knowledge of candidates for the two
offices. Voters are more familiar with Senate candidates than they are House candidates
(Abramowitz 1980; Herrnson 2004; Hinckley 1980; Jacobson 2001; Krasno 1994; Miller 1990).
Senate candidates are more frequently recalled or recognized by survey respondents. Voters read
about Senate candidates more than House candidates, see Senate candidates more often on
television, and receive mail more frequently from Senate candidates. A consequence of voters’
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