Congressional Elections and Incumbency (OCR A-Level Politics): Revision Notes

18.3.1 Congressional Elections and Incumbency

Congressional Elections and the Significance of Incumbency

Congressional Representation Models

Members of Congress are responsible for representing their constituents while also reflecting the nation's interests. Their approaches can differ:

• Trustee Model: Representatives make decisions based on their judgement, aiming to act in the best interest of their constituents. This model is often associated with the Senate due to its longer terms (6 years), allowing senators to deliberate on complex issues.
• Delegate Model: Representatives adhere closely to the preferences of their constituents, reflecting popular sovereignty. This model fits the House of Representatives, where members have 2-year terms and need to be responsive to voter opinions to secure re-election.
• Resemblance Model: This model assesses whether Congress mirrors the demographic diversity of the nation. Despite progress, Congress does not fully reflect America's diversity. For example, although racial minorities make up a quarter of Congress, there are only 4 African American senators. The demographic composition includes 75% White Americans and an average age of 64, while 88% of members identify as Christian compared to 63% of the population. Notable milestones include Hakeem Jeffries becoming the first African American to lead a party as House Minority Leader.

Incumbency and Its Significance

Incumbency refers to sitting members running for re-election. The success rate for incumbents is exceptionally high, which can affect the democratic process:

• Implications for Democracy: The high re-election rates of incumbents suggest limited turnover in Congress, potentially stalling democratic renewal. However, incumbent defeats can lead to significant shifts in Congressional power and policy direction. Significance of Incumbency

• Use of Office and Financial Advantage: Incumbents can leverage their position to gain popularity and attract substantial funding from donors. In the 2022 Senate elections, incumbents raised an average of $29 million, about 14 times more than challengers. This financial edge, along with established reputations, makes incumbents strong candidates. For instance, during Trump's impeachment, 7 out of 50 Republican senators voted to convict, reflecting Trump's influence in their states.

• Safe Seats and Gerrymandering: The First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system creates many safe seats, often predetermined before elections. Gerrymandering exacerbates this, with state legislatures redrawing districts to favour their party. For example, the Republican's REDMAP strategy in 2008 led to Republican victories in Pennsylvania despite only 50% of the vote.

• Pork-Barreling: Incumbents use pork-barreling to secure re-election by adding amendments to legislation that benefit specific groups within their constituency. In 2023, $426 billion was allocated to earmarks. However, primary challenges are increasing, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's primary victory over Jim Crowley in New York's 14th district.

Evaluate the View That Congress Is Unrepresentative

Paragraph 1:

• Congress can be seen as representative given its increasing diversity. For example, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represents a diverse district in New York and has become a prominent figure in Congress.

• Since the 1990s, the diversity of Congress has improved, with the number of African-American Senators increasing from 2 to 20. EVALUATION:

• Despite this progress, Congress remains underrepresented in terms of gender and religion. Women, who make up 50.8% of the population, constitute only 25% of Congress. Additionally, 90% of Congress members are Christian, while only 73% of the American adult population identifies as Christian. This disparity suggests that Congress does not fully represent the demographic makeup of the nation.

Paragraph 2:

• Frequent elections in the House of Representatives ensure that constituents have regular opportunities to vote for representatives who best reflect their interests. For instance, Al Green has represented Texas' 9th District since 2005, reflecting the district's substantial African-American population.

• The Senate provides equal representation among states, with each state having two Senators, which balances representation across states. EVALUATION:

• The representation is not always equitable due to the variation in the number of constituents per representative. For instance, one elector in Wyoming represents 180,000 people, whereas one elector in California represents 730,000. This disparity results in overrepresentation of smaller states and underrepresentation of larger ones. Paragraph 3:

• Congress can be viewed as unrepresentative due to the underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities. African Americans, who make up 13.6% of the population, are only 8.1% of state legislators. Similarly, Hispanic Americans represent 23% of the population but only 5.1% of state legislators. EVALUATION:

• Since 1990, the creation of minority-majority districts has improved representation. For example, Hakeem Jeffries, an African-American representative from New York, reflects increased diversity. The number of African-American House members increased from 25 to 43 between 1992 and 2016, indicating progress in representation.