1. Congress #3 Power of Incumbents

2. 1.Gerrymandering 2. Malapportionment A.1 Congressional district has 500,000 people, a nearby Congressional district has 750,000 people B.1 Congressional district is primarily Republicans, a nearby congressional district has primarily Democrats C. 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… 1.Name recognition: since they’ve run before, ppl know who they are 2.MONEY: PACs give majority of $ to incumbents 3.Experience: they have “on the job” knowledge

6. 4.Franking privilege: free mail to their constituents 5.Staffs: staffs are paid for Service Strategy: use staffs to answer phone calls, emails, etc – appeal to constituents

7. 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. 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)