268 CHAPTER 9|CONGRESS
The Incumbency Advantage and Its Sources
The desire to be re-elected infl uences House members’ and senators’ behavior
both in the district and in Congress. As we have mentioned, incumbents look for
opportunities to shore up support for the next election, and their success at pleas-
ing constituents produces large election rewards. As Figures 9.4 A and B show,
few members are defeated in re-election races. This is known as the incumbency
advantage. In the past two decades incumbent re-election rates have been near
record-high levels, with 95 to 98 percent of House incumbents winning.^12 For
example, in 2008, in an election that many called “transformational,” 95 percent of
House incumbents were re-elected. Although the Democrats picked up some seats
in the Senate, re-election was the norm there as well. Even in the “tsunami” elec-
tion of 2010, in which Republicans made the largest gains in the House since 1948,
picking up at least 60 seats, 86 percent of incumbents were elected. Why are incum-
bents so successful?IN THE DISTRICT: HOME STYLE
One explanation for the increasing incumbency advantage is rooted in the diver-
sity of congressional districts and states. Members of Congress typically respond
to the diversity in their districts by developing an appropriate home style —a way of
relating to the district.^13 A home style shapes the way members allocate resources,
the way incumbents present themselves to others, and the way they explain their
policy positions.
Given the variation among districts, members’ home styles vary as well. In
some rural districts it is important for representatives to have local roots, and
voters expect extensive contact with members. Urban districts expect a diff erent
kind of style. Because they have a more mobile population, voters there expect less
direct contact and place more emphasis on how their elected members of Congress
explain their policy positions.
Incumbency advantage may be explained in part by the skill with which
members have cultivated their individual home styles in the last two decades.
Members spend more time at home and less time in Washington than was true
a generation ago. This familiarity with voters has helped them remain in offi ce.incumbency advantage The
relative infrequency with which
members of Congress are defeated
in their attempts for re-election.
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TRY TO KEEP
the “folks back home” happy with
projects like this groundbreaking
ceremony in St. Louis for a $670
million Mississippi River bridge
connecting Illinois and Missouri.