By the time members of Congress return from recess next month, only a fraction of their constituents will have had the opportunity to stand up in a public meeting and question them on issues dominating the conversation in Washington.
Less than a third of representatives confirmed that they are holding traditional town halls with their constituents during their month-long break from Capitol Hill. The Washington Post contacted the offices of every member of the House — 434 in all, not counting a vacant seat in Utah — to find out whether they are holding open, face-to-face meetings with voters in August.
There were 138 members – 87 Democrats and 51 Republicans – who confirmed that they would be meeting this month with their constituents back home.
There were 49 additional members who confirmed they had no town halls planned and another 247 who did not return phone calls and emails or said through spokespeople that they had no details to share. If we were not able to get confirmation from the members’ offices directly, we checked congressional websites and social media pages and added any town halls we found to the list.
said they
are holding
town halls
138
said they are holding town halls.
296
said they are not or didn't reply and have no events posted
In the survey, we asked for events during August that meet these criteria: the representative appears in person, the event is announced in advance and the event is open to the public to discuss public policy.
We didn’t include private meetings, events held over the phone or online — increasingly common ways for members to meet with their constituents — or town halls held in June or planned for September. A list of the events we tracked is at the bottom of this page.
We found that while House Democrats were twice as likely be hosting town halls, still just 40 percent of Democrats and 18 percent of Republicans planned to host these types of public, in-person events.
87
Democrats
are holding
town halls
Democrats said they are holding town halls
said they are not or didn't reply and have no events posted
107
Democrats
said they are not or didn't reply and have no events posted
51
Republicans
are holding
town halls
Republicans said they are holding town halls
said they are not or didn't reply and have no events posted
189
Republicans
said they are not or didn't reply and have no events posted
Reasons cited for the low numbers included the contentious crowds that House members, especially Republicans, have faced in previous town halls this year and concerns about safety.
Rep. Raúl R. Labrador (R-Idaho) was booed at a town hall on April 19 after discussing health care. When Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) hosted a town hall in Mandan, N.D., on May 11, a man repeatedly stood up and screamed at the congressman.
As we searched for public events listed on House members’ websites and social media pages, we noticed that few featured broad announcements about upcoming town halls. In some cases, we found that citizens must register in advance in order to get an email notification when town hall events have been scheduled.
On House member sites where there were no open town halls listed, there were often mentions of other interactions with constituents: online chats, conference calls or even small group sessions where a representative may meet with constituents a few at a time. For example, the public Facebook page of Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) highlights a recent event where she met with a series of small groups of constituents.
The public Facebook page of Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) on Friday.
If representatives are meeting with constituents in other ways, why does it matter if members of Congress don’t host town halls?
Despite the at-times unpleasant interactions that can happen at larger, live events, Mark J. Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, said public town halls are a critical component of a democratic system based on accountability. Lawmakers can't achieve the same level of communication through mass conference calls, known as “tele-town halls,” or Facebook Live events, he said.
“Nothing comes close to seeing people in person and hearing their concerns firsthand,” he said.
Rozell, who has studied the presidency for decades, said it’s understandable that Republicans would be more reluctant to face residents when President Trump has set a tone that encourages heated discourse.
“That does not surprise me at all,” he said. “It’s the resisters, the anti-Trumpsters, who are using these town halls as vehicles for staging loud protests and getting as much attention for themselves and any grievances they have about the direction of the administration.”
[At raucous town halls, Republicans have faced another round of anger over health care]
Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) endured a barrage of shouting and insults at two town halls this year in his suburban Richmond 7th Congressional District. Activists recently demanded he hold one focused on health care, but he declined.
A man speaks during a town hall with Rep. David Brat (R-Va.) in Midlothian, Va., in May. (Chet Strange/Reuters)
Brat at a town hall in Midlothian in May. (Chet Strange/Reuters)
“It is clear these individuals are more interested in scoring political points with TV cameras running than in having a constructive dialogue about issues,” Brat said in an email to The Post. “I will not spend 90 minutes being shouted at by individuals who have already demonstrated they have no interest in a productive exchange of ideas.”
Instead, Brat said he will travel the district, meeting with constituents at community events and businesses — a strategy members have increasingly turned to as a way to avoid unscripted or combative encounters.
[‘May you die in pain’: Another GOP lawmaker grilled at health-care town hall]
In Brat’s heavily Republican district, that approach is unlikely to have political consequences. But in Northern Virginia’s 10th District, Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) represents a district that Hillary Clinton won by 10 points last year, giving Democrats reason to believe they can unseat her next year.
Northern Virginia residents hold a town hall meeting in February despite Rep. Barbara Comstock’s decision not to attend. (Amanda Voisard for The Washington Post)
Attendees raise their hands during the meeting. Volunteers answered questions next to an empty seat held for Comstock (R). (Amanda Voisard for The Washington Post)
Comstock’s decision not to hold a town hall — she favors small meetings with residents and visits to parades and festivals — has drawn criticism from some residents. Activists from a group calling itself Dump Comstock created electronic mobile billboards admonishing her to “Do your job!” and hold a town hall.
This week, the group announced that eight Democrats vying for the party nomination to challenge Comstock and her Republican challenger, Shak Hill, signed an “Accountability Pledge,” promising to hold three town halls a year and “remain open to opposing viewpoints.”
In southwest Texas, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex.), whose 23rd Congressional District spreads across 58,000 square miles, is taking his town halls on the road. Now in its third year, the “DC2DQ” tour has Hurd hosting 21 town halls in six August days, 11 of them at a Dairy Queen.
“Dairy Queen is a place where everyone knows where it is,” Hurd said in an interview. “The key is to meet constituents where the constituents are.”
Although some Republicans may more often find themselves in the hot seat over Trump, Rozell, the politics expert, said residents deserve answers from their representatives, no matter the party.
“With the polarization of American politics,” he said, “the intensifying partisanship makes them all look bad.”
A complete list of the town halls we found is below.
If you know about an event that isn’t included, please email politicsgraphics@washpost.com.
Events added after this graphic's publication (Aug. 11) are marked with an asterisk (*).
Bonnie Berkowitz, Armand Emamdjomeh, Gabriel Florit, John Muyskens, Jenna Portnoy, Leslie Shapiro, Kevin Uhrmacher and Aaron Williams contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this graphic listed Ryan Zinke as the representative from Montana. It is Greg Gianforte.
About this story
The Washington Post contacted the offices of 434 current voting House members, by email and phone from July 21 through Aug. 4. Additional events were found on representatives’ websites and social media. Utah's 3rd Congressional District seat is vacant. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was discharged from the hospital last month and is recovering. Conference icon by Milky - Digital innovation of the Noun Project. Representative pictures from Civil Services. Additional town hall information came from the Town Hall Project.
Originally published Aug. 11, 2017.
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