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There was no doubting the effectiveness of the Judiciary Committee's televised performance. The latest Harris poll shows overwhelming approval of the committee's conduct, with 65% of the people approving the way it went about its task and only 29% opposing. This is a marked turnabout from the previous poll, which showed a disapproval rate of 48% to 36%. Even in the South the new reading shows 59% of the people in support of the committee. That performance inevitably influenced how Americans feel about the verdict the committee reached. One Harris measure was that people who voted for Nixon in the last election now favor impeachment by 49% to 43%. To assess the committee's impact directly on the most sensitive terrain, TIME correspondents visited the districts of some of the Judiciary Committee's swing-vote Congressmen--six Republicans and a Democrat who voted for impeachment and represent strongly pro-Nixon constituencies. The findings, and how they affect the political futures of the seven Congressmen:

MARYLAND'S LAWRENCE HOGAN, as the only Republican to vote aye on all three accepted articles of impeachment, drew more heat from his constituents than anybody else on the Judiciary Committee. His mail, which at one point ran almost ten times the normal flow, was often angry and bitter. Constituents called him "Brutus," "Judas" and "Benedict Arnold"; representatives of 100 American Legion posts said they were afraid he would come out next in favor of amnesty for draft evaders and deserters (Hogan is an outspoken opponent of amnesty); there were even three telephoned threats on his life.

Still, the overall damage may not be too severe. The three-term Congressman is running, not for the House this November but for the governorship. Even with his impeachment vote, he is favored to get his party's nomination, and as before he remains an underdog against Incumbent Marvin Mandel in a state where 69% of the voters are Democrats. But instant fame as a result of Judiciary Committee publicity may help his cause. He still has the support of Maryland's U.S. Senators--both Republicans--and his pro-impeachment stand will enable him to pick up a lot of independent and Democratic votes.

MAINE'S WILLIAM COHEN enhanced his political stature with his impeachment vote. His own district, which includes the potato fields of Aroostook County, the timberland country of north and western Maine and the state's second and third largest cities--Democratic Lewiston and waveringly Republican Bangor--produced some bitter mail, including: "May a thousand camels relieve themselves in your drinking water." But generally his constituents seem to have been won over by his pro-impeachment arguments. Leon Smith, a Jonesport lobster dealer, used to say that he would not support Cohen if he voted for impeachment. Like many Mainers, however, he softened his view--"He's quite a man, I think"--after a local TV appearance by Cohen following his vote. The youthful, handsome Cohen has improved his prospects as a future candidate for Governor or Senator.

ILLINOIS' TOM RAILSBACK, from the state's 19th District, got enough flak from his Republican constituents to surprise aides working on his re-election campaign. Most of the criticism has come, not surprisingly, from old-line conservatives, businessmen and farmers who feel that Railsback has betrayed them as well as the Republican Party. "I've never seen the people so upset," declares Clarence Neff, Henderson County chairman.

But most feel that Railsback has not been wounded fatally by his impeachment vote. His Democratic opponent hi November, James Gende, is widely regarded as a lackluster liberal, and most of the key G.O.P. regulars, while angry, are sticking by Railsback. Many of them feel that there is enough time before November for him to win back some of his alienated friends. And there are unknown thousands, constituting perhaps Railsback's Silent Majority, who respect him for what he did.

One important Republican constituent, William Hewitt, board chairman of Deere & Co., last week indicated that he had been converted to Railsback's pro-impeachment view. At a Moline Chamber of Commerce lunch held in honor of Railsback, Hewitt announced that he would give financial support to the Congressman's campaign. Hewitt also noted that in the past, he had always given money to Nixon. Another supporter sent Railsback two red roses "for courage." Thus Railsback, who ran unopposed hi 1972, is unlikely to lose his congressional seat because of his impeachment stand.

WISCONSIN'S HAROLD FROEHLICH may have helped himself in his state's east-central constituency by his pro-impeachment vote. The freshman Republican Congressman won by a narrow 1% of the vote hi 1972, and may be in for a tight race against Jesuit Priest Robert Cornell this year. But the committee's proceedings enhanced the widespread feeling among his district's weary voters that impeachment is now the only way to clear the political atmosphere.

That is essentially the line that county chairmen in rural G.O.P. bastions like Waupaca County are arguing to assuage angry constituents. "The thing has gone so far," declares Waupaca's William Kinsman. "The question [of Nixon's guilt] will always be up in the air unless we put it to trial." In the larger cities, like Green Bay and Appleton, there has been a defection of voters from the Nixon camp that will probably help Froehlich. "I don't know how many dyed-in-the-wool Republicans are left," observes Appleton Stockbroker Thomas A. Toilette. "People have been so disgusted with the whole thing that this probably hasn't hurt him."

ILLINOIS' ROBERT McCLORY'S 13th District is a melange of wealthy Chicago suburbs and new Industrial centers. His constituents seem to have largely rallied behind him. While some in the G.O.P.'s right wing are outraged by his vote, the six-term Congressman may pick up support among an estimated 40% in the district who are independents. Many Nixon loyalists were mollified and moved by the fact that McClory seemed to search his conscience before his two aye votes. McClory is a respected figure in the district, something of a party patriarch; his impeachment vote surely swayed some pro-Nixon conservatives. "People feel things have to be bad for McClory to vote for impeachment," says State Representative Donald Deuster, adding: "Two-thirds of the party is being quiet. But they're saying, 'It's too bad, but it must be done.' They're resigned to the fact that Bob had to do a distasteful thing."

VIRGINIA'S M. CALDWELL BUTLER, the lone Southern Republican who voted for impeachment, should survive handily. No matter how angry diehard Nixon supporters may be in his Sixth District, they have no place else to go. Butler's Democratic opponent, Roanoke Sheriff Paul Puckett, has been attacking the G.O.P. Congressman for foot dragging on impeachment. The Roanoke Times reports that letters are running about 3 to 2 against Butler, but the mail flow is very light. Most important, Butler had the foresight to prepare his constituents for the impeachment process. Says Charles McDowell, Washington correspondent and columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "He's spent a lot of time teaching his district the majesty of the thing and bringing his people along." Though political observers feel that disenchanted Nixonites will stay at home in November, nobody thinks he is in real trouble.

ALABAMA'S WALTER FLOWERS, who first came to office in 1968 as a follower of George Wallace, is in some trouble. His constituency, which includes everything from Ku Klux Klansmen to liberal black college professors, went 66% for Nixon in 1972. As District Representative Andy Dearman said in Flowers' Tuscaloosa office: "No one has expressed outright anger at the vote, but many have expressed displeasure." Of the 353 letters received by Democrat Flowers' office since the vote, almost two-thirds have condemned his position.

But the obvious agony of decision that Flowers showed at the Judiciary Committee debates has led many to express respect for his pro-impeachment stand. "I don't think his vote reflects the sentiment of his constituency," says Selma mayor Joe Smitherman, "[but] I do understand how he came to the conclusion to vote the way he did." The feeling that he did what he thought was right, combined with his overall popularity, will probably enable him to survive in the coming congressional election. For the moment, in fact, Flowers has no opposition for reelection.

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