{"id":45598,"date":"2024-12-17T21:07:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T21:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=45598"},"modified":"2025-01-12T21:08:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T21:08:22","slug":"builders-versus-dividers-who-fared-better-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/12\/17\/builders-versus-dividers-who-fared-better-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Builders vs. Dividers: Who Fared Better in Elections?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We know Republicans swept the Senate and the House of Representatives, but how did <\/span>Builders<\/i><\/b> fare?<\/span><\/p>\n

For each of the four weeks leading up to the election, our <\/span>Builders Power Rankings<\/span><\/a> explored public statements, legislative work, and even election ads to rank congresspeople as Builders (demonstrating respectful disagreement and multi-partisan problem-solving) or Dividers (those seeming to do the opposite).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t meant to be a firm, hard-and-fast ranking; <\/span>it was meant to spark conversation.<\/b> It was meant to help us imagine a world in which we focused <\/span>less on political allegiances<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>more on how we disagreed with each other \u2014 <\/span><\/i>to help us imagine a world in which <\/span>divisive approaches<\/span><\/i> were considered our opponents<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So how did congressional Builders do?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among representatives up for reelection, 82% of Builders reclaimed their seats versus 100% of Dividers. <\/i><\/b>Remember, <\/span><\/i>95% of incumbents were re-elected<\/span><\/i><\/a> this election, putting Builders significantly below that benchmark.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

While more Democratic Builders than Republican ones were reelected to congress, statistically, Republicans performed slightly better than Democrats, with 11 out of 13 Republicans winning their races (84.5%) compared to 12 out of 15 Democrats (80%).<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not all doom and gloom for Builders. Notably, Oregon Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a #1 Republican Builder with a 3-week winning streak, was appointed to President-Elect Trump\u2019s cabinet as Labor Secretary.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>Why did Builders perform worse than Dividers? <\/b>And what should we make of that?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We know that aggressive, polarizing approaches tend to get more attention from the media (<\/span>something we\u2019ve studied<\/span><\/a>). That outsized attention can translate into more influence. Also, America\u2019s toxic polarization means that leaders who take more divisive approaches will tend to get more support from their passionate and frustrated allies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(We aren\u2019t saying polarization-related factors are the only factors; voting patterns and results are complex.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is that we have the power to change the incentives in government. It\u2019s up to us to reward politicians for being Builders and to put them in the penalty box when they\u2019re sowing discord. We promise to keep serving you tools to help do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you think?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

For those of you who looked at the rankings or watched the panel discussions, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts. What did you like? Do you think we could have done better? <\/span>Send us your thoughts<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The power of Power Rankings<\/b><\/h3>\n

Some more <\/span>Power Rankings<\/span><\/a> stats:<\/span><\/p>\n