The US-America Congressional Elections of 2002: Incumbency Bonus Instead of Political Competition?

The US Congressional elections of 2002 represented a crossroads, first in the choice between united Republican governance or shared Republican & Democratic power, & second in the unusual influence the aftermath of September 11, 2001, exerted on foreign policy. The structural & political...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen 2004-03, Vol.35 (1), p.81-98
Main Authors: Filzmaier, Peter, Plasser, Fritz
Format: Article
Language:ger
Subjects:
Competition
Elections
Foreign Policy
Incumbency
Legislative Bodies
Legislators
Political Parties
Politics
Terrorism
United States of America
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Summary:The US Congressional elections of 2002 represented a crossroads, first in the choice between united Republican governance or shared Republican & Democratic power, & second in the unusual influence the aftermath of September 11, 2001, exerted on foreign policy. The structural & political framework left the Democratic Party in a "no win" situation. In general, the US appears to have entered a phase of post-electoral politics, where not only the incumbency bonus of sitting Senators & Congressmen but also the increasing discrepancy in election results leads to a reduction of the number of candidates & challengers. This causes further unequivocal election results & a reduction in political competition. 4 Tables. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0340-1758