Die Wahlen zum US-Kongress vom 2. November 2004: Post-Electoral Politics oder Plutokratie?

• Published in: Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen 2005-06, Vol.36 (2), p.243-259
• Main Authors: Filzmaier, Peter, Plasser, Fritz
• Format: Article
• Language: ger
• Subjects: DOKUMENTATION UND KURZANALYSEN
• ISSN: 0340-1758; 1862-2534

In the U.S. congressional elections 2004 seat changes between parties were extremely seldom. According to the average of several years 98 per cent of incumbents were reelected in the House of Representatives and 96 per cent in the Senate. This means that in the House, the Republicans have held a majority since 1994 and probably will continue to do so until at least 2006. This is the longest time period without majority changes since the 1930s. The Republican Party has also dominated the Senate for more than a decade now. That is why (1) there are limited political chances for the Democratic Party with the consequence of hardly any serious challenges to the government and (2) there is a lack of competitiveness in most congressional campaigns which leads to post-electoral politics without majority changes. The main cause is the current system of campaign financing. In 2004, almost 1.1 billion dollars were officially spent by candidates and parties plus some hundred millions spent by an unknown number of independent groups. Most donations went to incumbents and candidates for open seats while challengers got little or nothing at all. These disparities in combination with extremely cost-intensive television advertising could lead to a plutocracy in the United States. It is unclear if Congress is willing and able to counteract this trend by passing new regulations directed to restore a fair and balanced access to financial resources.