• 140 likes • 274 Views
Who Wins Congressional Seats. Campaign Dynamics and Incumbency Advantage. Basics. Like w/ Presidential elections . . . Primary first Then general election Campaigns!. Every 2 years Discrete district Weaker challengers . Every 6 years Whole state Stronger challengers.
E N D
Who Wins Congressional Seats Campaign Dynamics and Incumbency Advantage
Basics • Like w/ Presidential elections . . . • Primary first • Then general election • Campaigns!
Every 2 years Discrete district Weaker challengers Every 6 years Whole state Stronger challengers House v. Senate Elections
Professional Legislature • Professional legislature • In part, due to responsiveness to constituency • Who is constituency?
House of Representatives • 435 House Seats • Allocated to each state based on population • Minimum of 1 per state • Reapportionment: the process of dividing up the house seats by population after every census
Redistricting • Drawing boundaries of congressional districts • Must be of equal population (based on census figures) – Baker v. Carr • Who does it?
Gerrymandering • Political – o.k. • Racial – not o.k.
Gerrymandering • Cracking • Packing
The Changing Landscape of Campaigns • Shift to more high-tech methods of campaigning • Capital-intensive • Campaigns increasingly professionalized • Changes in technology • Decline of party strength and partisanship • All this affects who wins . . .
Candidate Competition:How Voters Decide • Partisan Loyalty • Incumbency Advantage • Representative behavior • Constituency Service • Pork • Casework • Responsiveness • Member resources • Staff / field offices • Frank • Money
National Dynamics • Coattail Effect • Has declined, more split ticket voting • Party Unity / Polarization • Issue Advocacy • 527s
Representation • Substantive • Descriptive • Do we care about achieving descriptive representation?