Breakdown of bailout votes by “swing district” congresspeople

Ack, it’s been a while since I’ve last posted. Sorry, eager readers!

The failed house bailout bill has been absolutely fascinating to me. While I don’t doubt that something is needed to give the markets confidence, I’m conflicted as to whether the approach of the bill was the right one (and leaning towards, “no it was not”).

Anyway, this is the first time I can recall where a Bush-proposed bill had more support from Democrats than Republicans. I found some answers in this analysis on fivethirtyeight.com (thanks Erich for introducing me to this blog!)

It’s remarkable to see how strong a relationship there is between today’s failed vote on the bailout and the competitive nature of different House races.

Among 38 incumbent congressmen in races rated as “toss-up” or “lean” by Swing State Project, just 8 voted for the bailout as opposed to 30 against: a batting average of .211.

By comparison, the vote among congressmen who don’t have as much to worry about was essentially even: 197 for, 198 against.