1. Congress #3
Power of Incumbents

2. Gerrymandering 2. Malapportionment
1 Congressional district has 500,000 people, a nearby Congressional district has 750,000 people
1 Congressional district is primarily Republicans, a nearby congressional district has primarily Democrats
A state specifically creates a district to give Asians a majority in the district.

3. Incumbents: person in office
Get reelected over 90% of the time yet Congress tends to have very low approval rates

4. Constituents
Voters tend to like their Congressperson while disapproving of Congress as a whole
WHY?

5. Incumbents usually win b/c…
Name recognition: since they’ve run before, ppl know who they are
MONEY: PACs give majority of $ to incumbents
Experience: they have “on the job” knowledge

6. Franking privilege: free mail to their constituents
Staffs: staffs are paid for
Service Strategy: use staffs to answer phone calls, s, etc – appeal to constituents

7. Credit for projects: Congress ppl can use gov money to create projects (road etc) in their home district / state
Known as earmarks or pork barrel projects if they are considered wasteful

8. Districts?
Do districts that are gerrymandered to safeguard a party also safeguard the incumbent?
Safe seat: seats in Congress that are not competitive

9. Open Seat
No incumbent
These tend to be competitive races

10. Incumbents aren’t always safe
Coattails: Pres approval ratings affect Congress members
Since Obama’s approval is low, many D’s in Congress got the boot!
Midterm Elections: tend to be more about Pres approval and the Pres party tends to lose seats

11. Scandals
S seats are more competitive since it’s a larger area – more ppl to run & more powerful position
HR seats are less competitive (and less expensive)