Who was more scared to face voters in 2021? According to LegiStorm data, congressional Republicans held far fewer town halls than Democrats but did so more often in person. Both parties are less likely to brave constituents than before the pandemic.
Democrats held 1,307 in-person and virtual town halls last year - 52 percent more than the 864 that Republicans hosted.
Republicans were particularly town-hall shy in the year's first quarter, at a time when Democrats were eager to tour their COVID stimulus victories and held more than triple the town halls of Republicans. Democrats have since lost some of that edge and ended the year with only 31 percent more than the GOP in the last quarter.
Both parties ended the year behind their 2019 town hall counts: Democrats held 20 percent fewer town halls in 2021, while Republicans held 25 percent fewer.
In-person events made up more than half of GOP town halls for the year. Democrats held only 14 percent of their town halls in person, instead favoring virtual events held by telephone, Facebook and other online methods.
