Nov 30, 2021 - Politics & Policy

The lawmakers playing up infrastructure the most

Most mentions of “infrastructure” by members of Congress
Data: Quorum; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Both of the Democrats' vulnerable Arizona senators have been some of the most active lawmakers in hyping "infrastructure" in their press releases, newsletters, tweets and Facebook posts.

Why it matters: Democrats are hopeful their successes on roads, bridges — and, possibly, expanding the social safety net — will lessen losses they're expecting in the 2022 midterms. The social media activity has been tracked since President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package into law.

By the numbers: Quorum analyzed all Congressional press releases, newsletters to constituents, floor statements, tweets and Facebook posts with mentions of "infrastructure" since Nov. 15.

  • The total number of mentions: 3,168
  • Nine of the top 10 members of Congress with the most mentions are Democrats, with Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a Republican who is retiring, coming in 10th.
  • Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who is facing a tough re-election campaign, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who has faced criticism from progressives for her role in trimming the president's spending plans, also place in the top 10.
  • When including "federal executives" in the search, Vice President Kamala Harris came in 13th for most mentions of "infrastructure" in public statements, posts and releases.
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