Media Coverage of the Congressional Underdog

Abstract

Incumbents have many electoral resources which are funded by taxpayers in annual allowances to members for personal staff salaries; travel between Washington and district; constituent communications like newsletters, questionnaires, stationery and postage; telephone and district office expenses like rent, furnishings and equipment (Cover, 1977, p. 537). House incumbents can use casework and constituent service to score political points with the electorate. The incumbent usually has an easier time of raising substantial sums of money to finance reelection and to promote name recognition (see Jacobson, 1978, 1980, 1983). These advantages take on even greater significance in light of the fact that the electorate has been increasingly relying on incumbency rather than party affiliation as a voting cue (pp. 676-677). Moreover, incumbents in the 1970s have improved their ability to tailor their home styles to fit characteristics of their districts (Fenno, 1978).