the.com/congressman
A person elected to represent your interests, then the district's, then whoever funds the next race.
means An elected member of a national legislature, typically the lower house, who represents a specific district.
from Straightforward compound: 'congress' (from Latin congressus, 'a coming together,' from congredi, 'to walk together' — com- 'together' plus gradi 'to step') plus 'man,' the old default suffix for a person holding an office. The word tracks the gendered assumption baked into English political vocabulary, which is why 'congressperson' and 'representative' now compete with it.
- term length
- two years, so the campaign never actually stops
- official title
- technically means House only, not senators
- approval rating
- usually lower than cockroaches in national polls
- real job
- fundraising consumes roughly half the working week