Running for Congress as an Incumbent
Overview
Running for Congress as an Incumbent
Despite high disapproval ratings from the American public, the incumbent reelection rate
in Congress remains extremely high. Political scientists use the term “Congressional stagnation”
to describe the frequent reelection of incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives that
produces “stale” results as the same members continually return to service year after year. Are
these elected officials genuinely better candidates than their challengers, or do other factors
enhance incumbency advantage?
Many experts argue that the built-in advantages Congress members have when running
for reelection creates too great an obstacle for challengers. The franking privilege allows
incumbents to send information directly to their constituents free of charge. Supporters of
franked mail claim that it is necessary for legislators to continually update their constituents on
legislative duties, but since the amount of franked mail is generally higher in an election year, it
poses electoral advantages as well. Also, incumbents generally have a large financial advantage
when facing opposition in federal elections. Due to the cost of campaigning, many challengers
cannot compete with incumbents who raise larger sums of money and keep their names in the
minds of the voters. Moreover, Congressional district offices with paid staff aid in the
campaigning process by performing casework.
Casework, also called constituent service, is the efforts to resolve the issues that many
constituents face with government agencies, often called “red tape.” Successful attention to
casework enables the incumbent to achieve positive press and name recognition among
constituents. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-601) allowed funds to
be given to Congress for administrative staff. Some experts believe that the increase in the
amount of Congressional staff coincides directly with incumbent reelection rates. In 1970, the
Legislative Reorganization Act (Public Law 91-510) increased the amount of money allotted for
Congress members to pay local staff to deal specifically with constituent services. Some of the
most common problems that casework addresses involve Social Security, Medicare, veterans’
benefits, jobs and other government programs or services. Constituents often contact Congress
members requesting help and are usually desperate or frustrated by the time a caseworker
receives their file. Caseworkers use their knowledge of government agencies and the personal
relationships that they have created through interacting with these institutions to help expedite a
successful resolution. The advantage an incumbent receives from a well-organized staff
performing casework provides a significant benefit to their public image. Overall, the staffs in
Congressional district offices enable Congress members to spend less of their personal time on
casework and more time on their legislative duties and reelection campaigns.
Congressional staffs also play a key role in campaign organization for incumbents. For
example, staff have ready access to television and media outlets that provide incumbents with
visibility in their district. Congress members also receive travel allowances for trips between
Washington D.C. and their states and districts. Simply by performing their everyday duties,
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incumbents meet with voters, attend special events, and increase their reelection prospects
through positive publicity.
Considering all of the advantages incumbents have in current Congressional elections,
their ability to raise more and larger campaign contributions due to PACs and other party
committees allows incumbents to outspend challengers and may represent the most significant
incumbency advantages. According to Federal Election Commission data from the 2004
election, challengers were outspent by incumbents in House races by an average of $700,000,
whereas Senate challengers were outspent by nearly $4 million, on average. Individuals and
groups mostly donate to incumbents in order to “buy access” after the election, as contributions
to challengers’ campaign is much riskier than giving to incumbents, when accounting for
incumbent reelection rates.
Incumbents tend to win reelection because they enjoy advantages such as the franking
privilege, media attention, full-time paid staff and experience. Although challengers face a
daunting task when attempting to unseat incumbents in Congress, upsets do occur, especially
when incumbents get caught up in controversy or an anti-incumbent wave sweeps over the
nation, such as with the 2010 midterm elections. However, dramatic turnover of incumbents
happens very rarely with reelection rates usually hovering around 90% or better.
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