Political Ambition's Effect on Legislative Behavior: Schlesinger's Typology Reconsidered and Revisited

According to Schlesinger's ambition theory, legislators seeking higher office behave differently from their less ambitious colleagues. In this note we examine Schlesinger's proposition that political ambition affects legislators' behavior. In the process, we argue that Schlesinger's typology of political ambition should be expanded to include intrainstitutional ambition--the members' desire for leadership positions within their present institution. Using data on U.S. House members we conclude that intrainstitutional ambition is distinct from both progressive and static ambition with each type of ambition exhibiting unique effects on various measures of legislative behavior.