William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

312 Chapter 9 | Elections

Before the Campaign

While in Office Most sitting House members, senators, and presidents work

throughout the election cycle to secure their reelection. Political scientists describe

this activity as the permanent campaign.^21 To stay in office, incumbents have to do two

things: keep their constituents happy and raise money for their campaign. As we will

see in Chapter 11, congressional incumbents pursue the first goal by taking actions that

reflect the demands of their constituents. This, in turn, boosts voters’ retrospective

evaluations of the incumbents at election time.^22 Incumbent presidents make the same

kinds of calculations. For example, during Barack Obama’s first months in office, many

of his advisers argued that he had to offer an economic stimulus plan in light of polls

showing the economy was an overriding concern to most Americans. Obama did so—a

decision driven not only by policy concerns but also by the desire to enact legislation that

voters would remember in a positive way when they returned to the polls to elect him for

another term. Of course, many presidential actions are taken in response to events rather

than initiated to gain voter support. Particularly in the case of wars and other conflicts,

it is far-fetched to say that presidents take hostile actions for political gain. Even so,

presidents, just like other politicians, are keenly aware of the political consequences of

their actions and the need to build a record they can run on in the next election.

Presidents can also use the federal bureaucracy both to their own advantage and to

help members of their party. For example, some scholars have argued that presidents

take measures to try to increase economic growth in the months prior to elections, with

the aim of increasing support for their own candidacies (if they are eligible to run for

reelection) and for their party’s candidates.^23 Given the size and complexity of the U.S.

economy and the fact that the independent Federal Reserve System controls monetary

policy, it is unlikely that such efforts could have much success. Even so, it seems clear

that out of a desire to stay in office and help their party’s candidates, presidents would

want to be seen as having a positive impact on the economy.

Fund-Raising Candidates for all offices, incumbents and challengers alike, also

devote considerable time before the campaign to raising campaign funds. Fund-

raising helps an incumbent in two ways.^24 First, it ensures that if the incumbent faces

Each term, members of Congress

decide whether to retire or run for

another term. Senator Orrin Hatch

(R-UT) announced his decision not

to seek reelection in January 2018,

leaving his seat in the Senate open.

Retirement decisions, which create

open-seat races, are an opportunity

for one party to gain seats from the

other.

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