Talking the Talk: Descriptive Representation, Issue Importance, and Congressional Communication on Facebook

Social media have opened new pathways for the representation of traditionally underrepresented constituencies. We examine the Facebook posts by members of Congress in light of the descriptive characteristics of the members and their districts, revealing limited conditional support for descriptive representation through social media issue messaging. Representatives are more likely to post about issues directly related to the races, genders, or other characteristics they share with constituents. However, this relationship may be tempered by the strategic imperatives of members. While Black representatives post more often about race, these members and those who represent more Black and Latino constituents are not more likely, and in some cases are less likely, to post about other issues important racial minorities, such as health care, jobs, guns, and the environment. This division suggests that the descriptive representation of issue preferences on social media is largely limited to issues that directly convey shared identity.