Non-Native Politicians

Do early-life geographic experiences shape politician policy preferences in- dependently of electoral incentives? I study non-native U.S. Congress members who represent constituencies far from where they grew up. Using a novel hand-collected dataset tracking residential histories for 1,295 legislators (1993–2014) merged with disaster records and roll-call votes, I estimate how extreme climate events in legislators’ upbringing counties versus current constituencies affect support for disaster relief, preparedness, and climate legislation. Within-legislator variation in disaster exposure isolates formative geographic attachment from electoral accountability. Non-native legislators respond to disasters in growing-up counties without electoral benefits. Democratic legislators show lagged responses to economic damage in upbringing areas, with effects outlasting constituency responses for climate legislation at twelve-month horizons. Republican legislators show large responses to human casualties in upbringing counties for disaster relief and preparedness but not climate policy. This paper highlights that formative place attachments constitute an independent determinant of legislative behavior, operating outside voter accountability and party discipline.