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Representation. 10 November 2009. Announcements. January Exam will be multiple choice format (100 questions) Dissatisfied citizens can try to remove incumbents from office during their terms through: initiatives. referendums. propositions. recall elections. referendums.
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Representation 10 November 2009
Announcements • January Exam will be multiple choice format (100 questions) • Dissatisfied citizens can try to remove incumbents from office during their terms through: • initiatives. • referendums. • propositions. • recall elections. • referendums. • The exam will be comprehensive so to do well you will have to read all of the assigned material and you must also understand it! • Using Turnitin: You only need to upload your paper once.
Incumbency Advantage • Typically about 90 percent of House incumbents are reelected • In the Senate, 78.6 percent have won reelection in the postwar period • Even in years very unfavourable to one of the parties, a large majority win. In 1994, the Democrats worst year since 1946, 84 percent won. In 1974, 77 percent of the Republican incumbents who ran were returned to office. • In 2006, 94 percent of House incumbents won; in the Senate 79 percent were reelected.
Explanations for Incumbency Advantage • Name Recognition • Redistricting (in the House) • Campaign finance system
Gerrymandering • Equal populations • Partisan • Incumbency • Racial
0 Racial Gerrmandering
Florida 3rd “ Gnawed Wishbone Texas 30th “Microscopic View of a Disease Illinois 4th Pair of Earmuffs Louisiana 4th Mark of Zorro Texas 29th Bird with Plumage New York 12th Bullwinkle
Campaign Money • A good candidate and a good message are not enough. Without money, the voters do not see the candidate or hear the message. • In contemporary candidate-centered campaigns, candidates (as opposed to the party organizations) must assemble their own campaign teams, raise their own money, hire consultants and technical specialists, and design and execute their own individual campaign strategies. • Recent elections reflect the rise in cost.
Money Raised in 2008 Source: www opensecrets.org
0 Campaign Spending
The Campaign Finance Regulation System • Campaign finance operates through two parallel systems: • Money going directly to candidates is subject to limits on the size of contributions and full disclosure of sources. See Federal Election Commission. • The Federal Election Campaign Act (FEC) of 1974 imposed limits on both contributions and spending for congressional candidates. However the Supreme Court ruled in Buckley vs. Valeo that the spending limits were unconstitutional because such restrictions limited free speech. • Presidential candidates who accept public funds (voluntary) also must observe spending limits. But money raised and spent outside of the candidates’ campaigns (soft money, issue advocacy) is lightly regulated and not subject to limits. • Obama was the first presidential candidate to refuse public funds so he would not have to abide by limits
The Role of the Representative • Trustees—legislators who use their own judgment to decide what is right • Delegates-legislators who carry out the precise wishes of their constituents back home regardless of what they personally believe is best • Symbolic-does Congress look like America?
