Incumbents' Advantages in the 1978 U. S. Congressional Elections

The 1978 National Election Study has provided us with a wide variety of data to help explain the advantages that incumbents have recently enjoyed in elections for the U.S. House. The incumbent has advantages over challengers in levels of familiarity, frequency of contact, and evaluations; contestants for open seats rank between incumbents and challengers on these items. An analysis of variables related to voting decisions shows that incumbents benefit from many different things that they do: advertising, credit claiming on services, and position taking on issues, as well as development of a home style that enhances their image. They also benefit from having obscure, inexperienced opponents who are usually short of resources and therefore do not become familiar to voters.