Electoral Connection
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| The Ugly Sister |
Advertising
Sanchez uses her campaign website, social media, and office travel budget to "disseminate [her] name among constituents in such a fashion to create a favorable image but in messages having little or no issue content" (Mayhew, 49).
Website lets users donate to her campaign, learn about her background and issue stances, view videos featuring Sanchez, and have access to links to her social media accounts. Whether users view issue-related content or not, they will recognize Sanchez's name on a ballot.
Fundraising
In order to disseminate her name, she must first raise enough to fund campaign activities and advertisements. Billboards, pamphlets, TV ads, yard signs have little to no issue content, but they make sure that voters recognize her name on the ballot more so than the other names. These types of advertisements are purchased with campaign funds.
Campaign funds (FEC):
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Travel
Using Social Media to advertise
- Twitter: A week before the election Sanchez tweeted and retweeted posts about equal pay for Latinas
- Since her district is mostly Hispanic, she appealed to a majority of her constituents (and voters)
- Facebook: uses Facebook to disseminate name and encourage constituents to go out and vote
Credit Claiming
Sanchez utilizes press releases and sponsored legislation to "[act] so as to generate a belief in a relevant political actor (or actors) that [she] is personally responsible for causing government to do something that the actor (or actors) considers desirable" (Mayhew, 53).
Press release (2003): Sanchez Secures $300,00 for Whittier Library
- Newly elected Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (CA -39th) immediately went to work for her constituents, and today announced that she has secured $300,000 for the Whittier Public Library. The funding is part of the FY 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, H.J. Res. 2, that passed the U.S House of Representatives on February 13th by a vote of 338 to 83
- Explicit credit claiming: "for her constituents"; creates belief that she was personally responsible for the passing of H.J. Res.; shows that she is efficient in getting stuff done for those back home in passing bill so quickly after taking office
- Effective pork barrel legislation
- Most legislation deals with schools/ young people; bills are important to constituents since district has low high school and university graduation rates
- Example: "Rep. Linda Sánchez introduces legislation to put more counselors in schools with high dropout rates"
- aimed at increasing graduation rate, making sure children aren't "left behind because his or her school does not have the funding necessary to afford enough school counselors"
- Claims credit for merely introducing bills
- Mayhew states that it doesn't matter if bill passes because it would be "the rest of Congress' fault," not their representative's
Position Taking
Sanchez uses roll call votes and calls attention to her speeches as a "public enunciation of a judgmental statement on anything likely to be of interest to political actors" (Mayhew, 61).
Roll Call Votes
Roll call votes below show Sanchez's voters that her positions are aligned with their preferences
- Yes
- Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes
- In line with campaign promise: "I want to ensure that those who serve today have incentives to continue, those who served in the past are properly honored."
- To authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes
- To provide for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States, to provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources, and for other purposes
- In line with campaign promise to provide for environmental protection
- Additional $10.2B for federal education & HHS projects
- In line with campaign promise: "I have introduced several bills that will help make schools safer, more stable places for students to grow and learn."
- Matches the stance of district with low graduation rates
- Nays
- Barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases
- In line with stance on environmental protection
- Reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment
- In line with campaign promise: "We need comprehensive immigration reform that fixes our immigration system, deals humanely with the undocumented immigrants already in America, and increases the security of our borders."
- Matches the stance of district with heavily Hispanic population (61.2%)
