Legislative Resources and Electoral Margins: New York State Senate, 1950-1990

Abstract

It is widely argued that legislative resources enable incumbents to increase their margins of victory. Changes within the New York Senate provide an opportunity to assess this thesis. Within a few years during the early 1970s, legislative resources increased substantially and abruptly. The legislative budget increased, a legislative office building opened, and district offices were established. There were also strong political motivations for the Senate legislative parties to become more concerned with retaining incumbent legislators. This analysis assesses changes in electoral margins from 1950 to 1990 and finds a distinct change in average margins of victory after the early 1970s. In addition, in the era after 1974, legislators experienced significantly larger sophomore surges. The greatest increases were among those whose initial elections were close, a finding which suggests that resources are targeted.