ipl-logo

Pros And Cons Of Running For Congress

1610 Words7 Pages

Topic 1: Candidate Choices Before running for congress there are many factors that come into play before they make the ultimate decision to run. One important question they need to ask themselves is how do they fit into the electoral equation. With this is mind the could-be candidates have to think what their odds are of winning an election, especially one that puts them in Congress. Many things play a role in this. Some of the aspects they have to consider is if there is an incumbent in office, what their district’s political stances are compared with their own, or how are they going to raise money to successfully run a campaign. On the opposite side of winning, candidates also need to think of how likely their challengers are to winning …show more content…

The district they decide to run for will have many different aspects that will help the candidate increase their likelihood of winning the election. One of which is what the political leanings of the district is. One way of determining this is looking at the history of the district. Does this district lean more to the left or do they lean more to the right? If they lean one way versus another, the candidate has to consider if their political affiliation aligns with that district’s (Congressional Elections Candidates, 8). If it doesn’t, the potential candidate might want to reevaluate whether or not if they want to run in that …show more content…

If the seat the candidate is running for is filled by an incumbent the chances of that candidate winning go way down, as incumbents have a reelection rate of 95% since the 1990’s (Congressional Elections Candidates, 10). However there is a chance that the candidate challenging the incumbent might win, due to the incumbent leaving office to run for a higher office, also known as progressive ambition (Congressional Elections Candidates, 10). If this or if the incumbent would retire, be dismissed, or dies in office, the race would become an open-seat election. These races are usually very competitive as it gives ways to new potential politicians to becoming an elected official (Congressional Elections Candidates, 11). Along with this all candidates need to think of districting changes and scandals as these help open and close elections for

Show More
Related

Summary Of Richard Fenno's Expectations Of Congressmen

242 Words | 1 Pages

The article is written by Richard Fenno in 1978, summarizing the dilemma of congressmen in the contemporary time. The author was specifically discussing about members of the House, who always seek for reelection during his legislative career, as stated in the initial part of the paper. Fenno went on to propose the conflict in incumbent congressmen 's career: more attention for the Washington career leads to less attention for the congressmen 's home state. The Washington career required commitment to build up support within the House. However, focusing on Washington rendered the congressman homeless, or losing his home 's supportive forces.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Dave Loebsack Vs Mariannette Miller Meek

2102 Words | 9 Pages

Karen Rodriguez Professor: Dr. Kathryn DePalo POS 4072 10 November 2014 The Race for Iowa’s 2nd District: Dave Loebsack vs. Mariannette Miller-Meeks It has been three times that Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has had to face off against her opponent Dave Loebsack a contest that has been dating back since 2008. Therefore as you can see Miller-Meeks is no stranger to her opponent and she clearly demonstrates that she is a fighter, who is not willing to go down so easily, even after facing off three times and having lost the previous races, Miller-Meeks has once again chosen to compete in the race for U.S. House Representative.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Representative Long

1144 Words | 5 Pages

However, reelection being the motivator of members of Congress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The motivation to be reelected incentivizes members of Congress to enact legislation and constantly work to improve the lives of citizens. Regardless of motive, as long as legislation is being passed through the House and members of Congress like Representative Long are improving the conditions of their district, the purpose of government is being

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages

1029 Words | 5 Pages

Assemblywoman Solages stated, “You cannot rely off other votes. When it comes to the elections, residents will come out to vote regardless of party. Residents vote for the candidate that will be able to get the job done.” (Assembly Member Michaelle

Read More

What Are Term Limits Pros And Cons

1564 Words | 7 Pages

In the aftermath of the first real wave of retiring legislators, supporters and opponents have debated on the benefits and detriments of term limits and neither side could come to a conclusion. In Maine where term limit restrictions resulted in a legislature comprised of 40% first term members resulted in the state’s budget being passed in march, the earliest in the state’s history. Supporters saw this as an example that members were working harder and were being more effective, while detractors saw the early budget as inexperienced legislators were passing proposals with inadequate understanding and scrutiny. Supporters emphasize the annual turnover increase in both chambers since the adoption of Proposition 140, as well as the significant increase in the number of members retiring voluntarily before they were 'termed-out '. Supporters are also quick to point out the increase in minority and women legislators increased as had been predicted.

Read More

Term Limits Pros And Cons

298 Words | 2 Pages

In consecutive term limits, a legislator is limited to serving a particular number of years in a chamber. After meeting the limit in that chamber, he or she may run for election to a different chamber or

Read More

Gerrymandering Pros And Cons

785 Words | 4 Pages

During political elections, or the presidential election per say, the election process can be hectic. Political parties strenuously work to convince people to favor their candidates. They perform this in order to receive political control and to rise in the governmental system. Two infamous political parties that are always competing are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The lure of gerrymandering is enticing because they take control of a state legislature by advancement of redistricting.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Term Limits Of Congress

597 Words | 3 Pages

New people can bring these different opinions instead of those who have been in there for a while who may not have new decision making. Some people believe that the term limits can help to root out corruption. People who are in there long enough could start basing topics off of their interests instead of the people around them. Lack of term limits leads to a system of seniority, meaning those who have spent the most time in office gain more power. The term limits can make it so that people can be in there for certain reasons

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Congressional Term Limits Of Congress

607 Words | 3 Pages

These proposed limits would reduce the gridlock of the political process that currently plagues Congress. Furthermore, antagonists will lose the argument that terms impede the steep learning curve of Congress. The opposite contends that Congress is an “on-the-job” training environment and no other political office or career can adequately prepare junior members for the interworking on Washington [D.C.] (Zubler, 1995). In general congressmen require at least four years, with participation as a member to special committees, to learn how Congress truly works. The above proposed limits allow for an adequate turnover of new congressman while still retaining historical base of senior congressman who understand the political process.

Read More

Congressional Term Limits Pros And Cons

809 Words | 4 Pages

Since the Constitution was amended in 1951 to limit President’s two terms, many political scientists have observed that congressional term limits could cure the imbalance between these two branch of the federal government. In Congress, the term limits have people

Read More

Congress Rhetorical Analysis

1262 Words | 6 Pages

The popularity of the members of Congress and Congress overall has been declining as the years pass and time changes. The dissatisfaction and disapproval of the public is so high because according to David Mayhew who wrote Congress the Electoral Connection members of Congress are single-minded people who are only focused on reelection, involve in “smart” behavior such as position taking, credit-claiming and advertisement. Also, according to Mayhew parties are weak, however, that is all not true people tend to vote more so for their party than the person in general. Arnold the writer of Logic of Congressional Outcome, states that Congress has many things to take into account such as citizen preference, robe-challenger, has to take into account

Read More

How Do Political Parties Influence Congressional Elections

758 Words | 4 Pages

The drawings usually consist of cracking or packing to provide a certain party a political advantage over the opposing party. Another way political parties influence congressional elections is through candidate backing as well as, candidate recruitment. Political parties have recently been more active in seeking candidates to endorse for campaigns et al., 2007). Political parties recruit politicians they think the public will identify with and ultimately support. If a person or politician is conflicted on running for a congressional position, the party will often sway

Read More

The Importance Of Congressional Term Limits In Congress

309 Words | 2 Pages

Hello my name is Ben Trammell and today I will be speaking about how congressional term limits would build a congress of little experience. Would you put term limits on policemen so they have no incentive to become corrupt? If so, then your police force would be filled with inexperienced rookies who would then make bad decisions due to their lack of experience. Congress would work the same way, they would have they same problem with rookie congressmen and women. If we impose these term limits we will be replacing a wiser man (that knows what to do) with an inexperienced man (who doesn 't know what to do).

Read More

Reform Arguments For Campaign Finance Reform

1626 Words | 7 Pages

Elected officials must balance the wishes of the overall electorate, specific constituencies within the Congress, and their own ideology. The relative importance of those competing factors remains an open question (Levitt, 1996). According to Fenno legislators make their decisions based off of three primary goals: reelection, good public policy, and influence (Smith, et al., 2013). Mayhew argues that Fenno's first goal, reelection, is in fact the only goal. His reasoning is that congressional members are constantly scared or worried with the thought of losing the next election round.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Term Limits In Congress

1499 Words | 6 Pages

“Critics say that politicians should be rewarded for ably serving their constituents, and the best reward is reelection. Term-limited elected officials are perhaps the only people in the U.S. who risk losing their jobs because they gain too much relevant experience, opponents further assert” (Issues and Controversies,

Read More

More about Pros And Cons Of Running For Congress

Related Topics

Open Document