The strength of party brands means that fighting for marginal districts is now much more expensive for candidates

Concern about party polarization in Congress is by no means new, but using new research, Henry A. Kim and Brad L. LeVeck argue that it can also lead to more expensive campaigns for incumbents in marginal districts. They maintain that while strong party branding makes it much easier for candidates to communicate their ideology in districts that like the party, in competitive races, incumbent candidates must work hard, and spend more, to present more information to show that they are closer to their district’s preferences than those of their party.