Elections & Incumbency
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 16.4.1
Incumbency and Elections
When the current president runs for election, they have a number of advantages over other candidates which increases their chance of re-election.
Incumbent president in primaries
- When an incumbent president runs for re-election, primaries of the president's party have little coverage.
- The incumbent president is likely to be re-nominated to stand in the presidential election.
- Before the 1984 election President Ronald Reagan won 99% of the Republican primary vote.
- Before the 2004 election President George W. Bush won 98% of the Republican primary vote.
Challenge during primaries
- If there is a strong challenge to the incumbent president in a primary it can harm the president in the presidential election as it shows a lack of support from their own party.
- President George H. W. Bush was challenged by Pat Buchanan and won only 72% of the primary vote. President Bush lost the following 1992 presidential election.
Incumbency effect
- The incumbent president has a strong chance of re-election for a second term as president.
- The president has strong name recognition with voters.
- They are likely to be better known than the candidate who they compete with.
- The president will have large funding to run their campaign because they are an established political candidate who is likely to have many supporting donors.
Test yourself on Elections & Incumbency
Which of the following is NOT true of the incumbency effect?