CONGRESS - incumbency and why incumbents are re-elected to Congress

Question 1

gerrymandering

what is it?

a) packing - pack opponent’s voters into smaller districts
b) cracking - crack strong opposition areas to dilute it

Answer 1

the party that controls each state’s legislature has the power to redraw this state’s districts every 10 years after the census.

the state can give their own party electoral advantage.

this impact congressional and state re-elections.

Question 2

gerrymandering

example

SCOTUS shot it down

Answer 2

North Carolina

Greensboro is a BLUE city, but it is divided among 3 Republican districts which heavily waters down Dem votes.

Trump won 50 percent of the vote in North Carolina, and Biden won 49 percent. With this new map, there would be 10 red seats and just three blue ones.

Question 3

finances

example

Answer 3

elections are expensive

2016 - in the last election, senate incumbents raised $12,700,000 in comparison the $1,600,000 on average by their challengers.

Question 4

pork-barrel spending

what is it?

cronyism

Answer 4

refers to the practice of politicians trading favours with constituents or special interest groups in favour of support.

peaked in 2006.

Question 5

pork-barrel spending

example

Answer 5

since 1991, pork barrel politics have costed $390 billion as estimated by think tank, Citizens Against Government Waste.

Question 6

franking privileges

example + explanation

Answer 6

incumbents have websites by their House where they can express their policy beliefs.

cost of mailing to their constituents is provided for by Congress.

this helps their electoral chances.