Abstract
T HE DECLINE IN THE NUMBER of marginal congressional districts in the 1960s sparked a widespread interest in the electoral performance of incumbents. Since its inception, the literature has been characterized by two traits: the universal agreement that the reelection margins of incumbents are responsible for the declining number of marginal districts; and the prevalence of imaginative but largely untested explanations for the improved electoral performance of incumbents. These suggestive explanations include proincumbent redistricting,' increased use of the franking privilege,2 increased opportunity to perform ombudsman work for constituents,3 improved ability of incumbents to match their home styles with the characteristics of their districts,4 and the replacement of partisan voting cues with incumbent voting cues.5
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