LaMalfa’s Electoral Connection

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In anticipation to running for (and eventually winning) re-election in 2018, LaMalfa engage in several activities that applied to Mayhew's argument, among them:

Advertising

LaMalfa returned to his district in 2017 in order to host town hall meetings in several different cities with his district and answer individual questions from his constituents. Some constituents were supportive of him while others were not, but it gave him a chance to show his face and be more personable with those he represents in order to keep them informed of who he is. When people know his name and face, they will be more inclined to vote for him, especially when considering he is already the incumbent.

Credit Claiming

 LaMalfa has made much use of credit claiming in his time in office, and 2018 was no exception. He has shown much support for agricultural legislation, which is not surprising considering he is from a rural district and is a farmer himself. In June of 2018, he came out in support of the Agriculture and Nutrition Act. He claimed to make sure that the bill would help farmers stay competitive, provide incentives for people to enter the farming profession, and promote agriculture-based renewable energy among other parts of the bill. He even released a video of himself farming in order to demonstrate how important the bill was to him. He is also on the House Agriculture Committee, which gives him even more credibility in that realm and allows him to present himself as a leader in that area. Another area in which he has taken much credit for is veterans issues. On Twitter, he talked about introducing the Honoring Veterans' Families Act, in which the VA would provide tombstone engravings of the names of the spouses and children of veterans. Taking care of the country's veterans is something that almost all Americans can agree on, and it would make sense for LaMalfa to jump on the issue and appear to working hard on that matter as well. It would be received positively by most people, so it would only help him to promote his work on that legislation.

Position Taking 

 When campaigning this past year, LaMalfa released ads for television, talking about how he was fighting for things such as cutting taxes, building more water storage for the district, and reducing fire risk. This way, it makes him appear he is hard at work for his constituents, and is fighting to provide for them what they need. By taking these positions, he can demonstrate to his constituents that he working on their behalf and trying to fix their problems, even if he does not necessarily get all of his passed into law.

Conclusion

In the end,  LaMalfa fits Mayhew's theories very well. He knows what he needs to get across to his constituents and how to portray himself to them when it is time for them to come out and vote. By following Mayhew's model, he can give himself a good chance of being re-elect each time should he continue to run for office in the future.

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