The 'Ideological' Electoral Connection: The Effects of Legislative Extremism on Contestation and Vote Share.

The article examines the impact of legislative extremism on contestation and vote share in the U.S. Studies indicate that incumbent ideological extremity varies across members. The authors claim that increased incumbent ideological extremity does increase the possibility of contestation and produce smaller vote shares for members coming from moderate districts. However, the increased incumbent ideological extremity decreases the possibility of contestation and increases vote shares for members from ideologically extreme districts.