William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

Congress and the people 387

Campaign Fund-Raising Raising money is also key to staying in office. Incumbents

need money to pay for campaign staff, travel, and advertising. It takes at least $1 million

to make a credible challenge to an incumbent in most districts, and in many areas with

expensive media markets the minimum price tag is $2 million or more. Few challengers

can raise that much money. The gap between incumbent and challenger spending has

grown dramatically in the past decade, and incumbents now spend about three times as

much, on average, as challengers. (For more on campaign finance, see Chapters 9 and 10.)

Money also functions as a deterrent to potential challengers. A sizable reelection

fund signals that an incumbent knows how to raise money and will run a strong

campaign. The aim is to convince would-be challengers that they have only a

slim chance of beating the incumbent—and to convince contributors and party

organizations that there’s no point in trying to find or support a challenger.

This last point is crucial in explaining incumbency advantage, because it is nearly

impossible for a weak challenger to beat an incumbent. Consider that only 10 to 15

percent of challengers in a typical election year have any previous elective experience;

when such a high proportion of challengers are amateurs, it is not surprising that so

many incumbents win.

Constituency Service Another thing incumbents do to get reelected is “work their

districts,” taking every opportunity to meet with constituents, listen to their concerns, and

perform casework (helping constituents interact with government programs or agencies).

Most legislators travel around their districts or states with several staffers whose job is to

follow up with people who meet the incumbent, write down their contact information, and

note what the incumbent has promised to do for them. High levels of constituency service

may help explain why some incumbents have become electorally secure.

Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) meets

with constituents in her office in

Washington, D.C., in 2013.

Members of Congress love doing constituency service because it is an easy way to

make voters happy. If a member can help a constituent solve a problem, that person

will be more likely to support the member in the future.^18 Many voters might give the

incumbent some credit simply for being willing to listen. Therefore, most members

devote a significant portion of their staff to constituency service, publish newsletters

On average, House incumbents raised

$1,804,091

for their campaigns in 2018. The

average Senate incumbent raised

$12,773,950. This is compared

with $392,259 and $1,882,731 for

the average House and Senate

challengers.

Source: Opensecrets.org

DID YOU KNOW?

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