Tulsi's Electoral Connection

Tulsi Gabbard perfectly fits David Mayhew's depiction of members of Congress as "single-minded seekers of reelection." The career politician has barely ever made an effort to mask her ambition of climbing the political ladder, and the proximate goal of being reelected to the House of Representatives must be repeatedly achieved in order for Gabbard to attain her ultimate goal of successfully running for higher office.

Electorally Useful Activities

Advertising: 

Since launching her campaign for the presidency, Gabbard has been attempting revamp her image in an effort to appeal to a broader national constituency. As one of the lesser-known candidates in the race, she must put an extra emphasis on disseminating her name and building a favorable persona. So far, Tulsi has primarily tried raising her profile through social media and television interviews in hopes that these mediums will enable her to reach as many Americans as possible. She recently has been releasing a series of videos on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram entitled "On the Road" that give viewers an intimate look inside Gabbard's insurgent campaign, mostly focusing on her interactions with voters and close aides.  The videos are relatively light in issue content, favoring simple slogans over detailed policy proposals. However, they strongly emphasize Gabbard's commitment to public service and her personal values as well as trying to strike a balance between her stoic demeanor and her compassion for other people, especially fellow veterans. 

Gabbard's travel schedule is based around where she needs to advertise if she wants to have even a small chance of winning the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. She has been making plenty of stops in the crucial early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire to host town hall meetings and other small events in order to forge connections with individual voters.

Gabbard is more unique in advertising to her constituents back in Hawaii's Second Congressional District. Every spring, Tulsi sponsors an art competition for high school students as well as other STEM competitions for middle schoolers. In 2014, Gabbard used her franking privileges to send 76,000 voter registration forms to residents in her district with messages encouraging Hawaiians, who have one of the lowest voter turnout percentages in the United States, to make a difference in their communities by voting on election day. Gabbard has recently been accused of putting her national ambitions before meeting with and serving her constituents, but Tulsi still routinely returns to Hawaii to host or attend over two hundred events per year including town halls, hurricane preparation meetings, and memorial services in order to promote herself.

Credit Claiming:

Gabbard has presented herself to constituents as a tireless and effective advocate for members of the armed services and their families. The first piece of legislation Gabbard ever introduced in Congress was the Helping Heroes Fly Act, a bill to expedite the airport security screening process for wounded and severely disabled armed service members and veterans. The bill was signed into law by President Obama in 2013, and Gabbard was quick to take credit for drafting the legislation and shepherding it through both houses of Congress with near unanimous support through a press release and a public statement. Two more bills Gabbard introduced in 2015 were signed into law in 2016. The Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act sought to recognize the forgotten Filipino and Filipino-Americans who fought for the United States in World War II by awarding them with Congress' highest civilian honor. After the bill was enacted, Gabbard presented the medals to the veterans herself. "Talia's Law," legislation aiming to protect children in military homes from neglect and abuse, was passed and signed into law as part of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. Once again, Gabbard claimed credit for the legislation through a press release and public statement.

Americans love a man in uniform, but will they vote for a woman in one?

Gabbard also claims credit for the individual benefits she has given to constituents through casework. In 2017, her office claimed to have helped 920 Hawaiian families with federal agency issues. Gabbard even has a page on her website that allows constituents to submit proposals for funding requests and bill language changes that she will advocate for during the appropriations process.

Position Taking:

If there is one activity that Tulsi Gabbard loves to engage in more than any other, it is position taking. Most of the issues that Gabbard addresses on her Congressional website are hardly pertinent to the particular needs and interests of her district. Instead, Gabbard addresses issues of national importance, or at least those that Democratic activists deem important, in an effort to raise her profile and make herself appear ready to assume the highest office in the land. Issues that Gabbard's website offers her opinions on include campaign finance reform, gun control, and regulating tech companies. 

Gabbard's Twitter feed is perhaps the finest example of position taking by a member of Congress I have ever seen. Gabbard is willing to give her hot takes on anything and everything within the universe of public policy. Gabbard isn't just taking a shotgun approach to position taking, however. She seems to be presenting herself as the clear choice for voters most concerned about America's interventionist foreign policy, stating in one tweet "we must end the long-held foreign policy of regime-change wars and deposing dictators" and pledging in another to stop the new Cold War with Russia and avert an imminent nuclear catastrophe. 

No one asked you, Tulsi.

It should go without saying that Tulsi also loves a good press release. She has put out twenty-three press releases since the beginning of the year. Some are fairly light on issue-related content, but others reveal her stances on issues ranging from paid family leave to the latest government shutdown.