Why do we hate politicians (particularly Congress) so much yet so often reelect the same ones? The incumbency advantage is a well-documented phenomenon in political science, and 2024 saw sky-high reelection rates for elected officials running for their same seats. Although incumbency advantage can vary by type of office (e.g. Congress, governors) and by state, those already in office tend to have an advantage by virtue of already holding the seat. Why do incumbents generally enjoy an advantage over challengers in this regard? How successful have recent and historical incumbent reelection bids been? That’s what today’s episode dives into.

Today’s random question: What is your ideal Thanksgiving meal?

Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/

My website: https://paulrader.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/

Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/

Email: [email protected]

Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65

(0:00) Intro and today’s random question

(1:17) Who is an incumbent?

(3:05) The Fenno Paradox

(8:54) The factors that help incumbents

(17:30) The factors that can hurt incumbents

(23:09) How incumbent win rates can vary depending on office

(27:07) Incumbent win rates in recent years and historically

(32:00) 2024 incumbent win statistics

(35:53) Closing and today’s random question