{"id":16426,"date":"2014-10-22T21:17:40","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T21:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/news\/2014\/10\/22\/harrington-lecturer-cites-incumbencys-advantages-in-congressional-elections\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T05:46:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T09:46:18","slug":"harrington-lecturer-cites-incumbencys-advantages-in-congressional-elections","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2014\/10\/22\/harrington-lecturer-cites-incumbencys-advantages-in-congressional-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Harrington lecturer cites incumbency’s advantages in congressional elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul S. Herrnson\r\n\r\nAs the mid-term elections approach, a candidate’s best strategy for being elected a congressman or senator is this: already be<\/em> a congressman or senator.\r\n\r\nIndeed, incumbency is the best predictor of success in most national elections, according to Paul S. Herrnson, professor of political science at the University of Connecticut and executive director of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research<\/a>. Hernsson was at Clark University<\/a> on Monday to deliver the Harrington Lecture, sponsored by the Francis A. Harrington Public Affairs Fund in the Political Science Department<\/a> and the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise<\/a>.\r\n\r\nCongressional incumbents win at a 90 percent rate over their challengers, largely because the system is so clearly rigged in their favor, Herrnson said. Districts may be gerrymandered to favor incumbents, who also enjoy greater media visibility and more resources to build an effective campaign structure. Beyond those advantages, it’s difficult to find qualified challengers willing to risk their careers in a losing campaign against a well-entrenched incumbent.\r\n\r\nRight after one election ends, incumbents immediately begin campaigning for re-election, according to Herrnson, spending a significant amount of their workday raising money. Using sophisticated research, they fashion fundraising pitches toward specific demographic groups and once they’ve shown they can raise money in their home districts they pursue large donations from national interests.\r\n\r\nIncumbency feeds on itself, he said. Officeholders have an experienced organization and fundraising infrastructure, and they offer governmental access to those who are advancing a specific cause or agenda. Herrnson said challengers simply don’t enjoy the advantages accorded to someone who already is in office. “It’s all catch-up [for a challenger],” he said. As such, incumbent campaigns are generally run from a defensive posture: avoid scandal, stay the course, and hope your challenger runs out of money.\r\n\r\nHerrnson offered several more thoughts on elections:\r\n<\/p>