One study classified first-term representatives according to how much federal largesse flowed into their districts. It showed that, yes indeed, those who forked over the most pork won re-election by the most comfortable margins. Those with the least pork increased their share of votes by an average 4.6 percentage points over what their first election. And those who hauled the most pork projects home added almost 9 percent to their vote. So pork works, in a way.
Some voters respond positively to it.
And some special interest groups respond very positively by helping line a candidate's campaign coffers. But it doesn't really help most folks. The cities and states that get the most pork remain the poorest. And pork certainly doesn't help politicians fulfill their genuine civic obligations as servants of the common good. It only helps them achieve one pork-larded term in office after another.