Federalism, Geography, and the Representation of Cities in the US Congress
2026-08-22
How elections impact the behavior of legislators is one of the most fundamental questions in the study of representation, yet little is known about the role of electoral geography. In a federal system like the United States, national resources often flow to cities. However, members of Congress represent congressional districts, which do not align with city boundaries. Using spending data from 1967 to 2019 and a within‐city research design, I show that the same city is represented differently depending on how it aligns with electoral maps. Cities benefit from having more representatives provided city residents still make up a substantial portion of each congressional district. These findings contribute to our understanding of representation within a federal system and illustrate how electoral geography can create inequalities in representation and the distribution of resources.