"Re-election" redirects here. For the system used in the English Football League, see Re-election (Football League).
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-election or not. In some situations, there may not be an incumbent at time of an election for that office or position (ex; when a new electoral division is created), in which case the office or position is regarded as vacant or open. In the United States, an election without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat or open contest.
The word "incumbent" is derived from the Latin verb incumbere, literally meaning "to lean or lay upon" with the present participle stem incumbent-, "leaning a variant of encumber,[1] while encumber is derived from the root cumber,[2] most appropriately defined: "To occupy obstructively or inconveniently; to block fill up with what hinders freedom of motion or action; to burden, load."[3]
Incumbency advantage
In general, an incumbent has a political advantage over challengers at elections. Except when the timing of elections is determined by a constitution or by legislation, the incumbent may have the right to determine the date of an election.
For most political offices, the incumbent often has more name recognition due to their previous work in the office. Incumbents also have easier access to campaign finance, as well as government resources (such as the franking privilege) that can be indirectly used to boost the incumbent's re-election campaign.
In the United States, an election (especially for a single-member constituency in a legislature) in which an incumbent is not seeking re-election is often called an open seat; because of the lack of incumbency advantage, these are often amongst the most hotly contested races in any election.[citation needed] Also, an open contest is created when the term of office is limited, as in the case of terms of the U.S. president being restricted to two four-year terms, and the incumbent is prohibited from recontesting.
When newcomers look to fill an open office, voters tend to compare and contrast the candidates' qualifications, positions on political issues, and personal characteristics in a relatively straightforward way. Elections featuring an incumbent, on the other hand, are, as Guy Molyneux puts it, "fundamentally a referendum on the incumbent."[4] Voters will first grapple with the record of the incumbent. Only if they decide to "fire" the incumbent do they begin to evaluate whether each of the challengers is an acceptable alternative.
A 2017 study in the British Journal of Political Science argues that the incumbency advantage stems from the fact that voters evaluate the incumbent's ideology individually whereas they assume that any challenger shares his party's ideology.[5] This means that the incumbency advantage gets more significant as political polarization increases.[5] A 2017 study in the Journal of Politics found that incumbents have "a far larger advantage" in on-cycle elections than in off-cycle elections.[6]
Business usage
In relation to business operations and competition, an incumbent supplier is usually the supplier who currently supplies the needs of a customer and therefore has an advantageous position in relation to maintaining this role or agreeing a new contract in comparison with competing businesses.[7]
Political analysts in the United States and United Kingdom have noted the existence of a sophomore surge (not known as such in the United Kingdom) in which first term representatives see an increase in votes in their first election. This phenomenon is said to bring an advantage of up to 10% for first term representatives, which increases the incumbency advantage.
However, there exist scenarios in which the incumbency factor itself leads to the downfall of the incumbent. Popularly known as the anti-incumbency factor, situations of this kind occur when the incumbent has proven themself not worthy of office during his tenure and the challengers demonstrate this to the voters. An anti-incumbency factor can also be responsible for bringing down incumbents who have been in office for many successive terms despite performance indicators, simply because the voters are convinced by the challengers of a need for change. It is also argued that the holders of extensively powerful offices are subject to immense pressure which leaves them politically impotent and unable to command enough public confidence for re-election; such is the case, for example, with the Presidency of France.[8] Voters who experience the negative economic shock of a loss of income are less likely to vote for an incumbent candidate than those who have not experienced such a shock.[9]
Nick Panagakis, a pollster, coined what he dubbed the incumbent rule in 1989—that any voter who claims to be undecided towards the end of the election will probably end up voting for a challenger.[10]
In France, the phenomenon is known by the catchphrase Sortez les sortants ("Get out the outgoing [representatives]!"), which was the slogan of the Poujadist movement in the 1956 French legislative election.
^Guy Molyneux, The Big Five-Oh, The American Prospect, 1 October 2004.
^ abPeskowitz, Zachary (2017-05-01). "Ideological Signaling and Incumbency Advantage". British Journal of Political Science. 49 (2): 467–490. doi:10.1017/S0007123416000557. ISSN 0007-1234. S2CID 157292602.
^de Benedictis-Kessner, Justin (2017-12-07). "Off-Cycle and Out of Office: Election Timing and the Incumbency Advantage". The Journal of Politics. 80: 119–132. doi:10.1086/694396. ISSN 0022-3816. S2CID 222440248.
^Chen, J., Incumbent, Investopedia, updated 27 January 2021, accessed 20 March 2021
^Robert Tombs (May 2, 2017). "France's Presidency Is Too Powerful to Work". Polling Report. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
^Margalit, Yotam (2019-05-11). "Political Responses to Economic Shocks". Annual Review of Political Science. 22 (1): 277–295. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-050517-110713. ISSN 1094-2939.
Look up incumbent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
De Magalhaes, L. (2015). . Political Analysis, 23(1), 113–126.
January 01, 2023
incumbent, ecclesiastical, office, ecclesiastical, election, redirects, here, system, used, english, football, league, election, football, league, incumbent, current, holder, office, position, usually, relation, election, election, president, incumbent, person. For the ecclesiastical office see Incumbent ecclesiastical Re election redirects here For the system used in the English Football League see Re election Football League The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position usually in relation to an election In an election for president the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election whether seeking re election or not In some situations there may not be an incumbent at time of an election for that office or position ex when a new electoral division is created in which case the office or position is regarded as vacant or open In the United States an election without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat or open contest Contents 1 Etymology 2 Incumbency advantage 2 1 Business usage 2 2 Sophomore surge 3 Anti incumbency 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 Further readingEtymologyThe word incumbent is derived from the Latin verb incumbere literally meaning to lean or lay upon with the present participle stem incumbent leaning a variant of encumber 1 while encumber is derived from the root cumber 2 most appropriately defined To occupy obstructively or inconveniently to block fill up with what hinders freedom of motion or action to burden load 3 Incumbency advantageIn general an incumbent has a political advantage over challengers at elections Except when the timing of elections is determined by a constitution or by legislation the incumbent may have the right to determine the date of an election For most political offices the incumbent often has more name recognition due to their previous work in the office Incumbents also have easier access to campaign finance as well as government resources such as the franking privilege that can be indirectly used to boost the incumbent s re election campaign In the United States an election especially for a single member constituency in a legislature in which an incumbent is not seeking re election is often called an open seat because of the lack of incumbency advantage these are often amongst the most hotly contested races in any election citation needed Also an open contest is created when the term of office is limited as in the case of terms of the U S president being restricted to two four year terms and the incumbent is prohibited from recontesting When newcomers look to fill an open office voters tend to compare and contrast the candidates qualifications positions on political issues and personal characteristics in a relatively straightforward way Elections featuring an incumbent on the other hand are as Guy Molyneux puts it fundamentally a referendum on the incumbent 4 Voters will first grapple with the record of the incumbent Only if they decide to fire the incumbent do they begin to evaluate whether each of the challengers is an acceptable alternative A 2017 study in the British Journal of Political Science argues that the incumbency advantage stems from the fact that voters evaluate the incumbent s ideology individually whereas they assume that any challenger shares his party s ideology 5 This means that the incumbency advantage gets more significant as political polarization increases 5 A 2017 study in the Journal of Politics found that incumbents have a far larger advantage in on cycle elections than in off cycle elections 6 Business usage In relation to business operations and competition an incumbent supplier is usually the supplier who currently supplies the needs of a customer and therefore has an advantageous position in relation to maintaining this role or agreeing a new contract in comparison with competing businesses 7 Sophomore surge Main article Sophomore surge Political analysts in the United States and United Kingdom have noted the existence of a sophomore surge not known as such in the United Kingdom in which first term representatives see an increase in votes in their first election This phenomenon is said to bring an advantage of up to 10 for first term representatives which increases the incumbency advantage Anti incumbencyMain article anti incumbency However there exist scenarios in which the incumbency factor itself leads to the downfall of the incumbent Popularly known as the anti incumbency factor situations of this kind occur when the incumbent has proven themself not worthy of office during his tenure and the challengers demonstrate this to the voters An anti incumbency factor can also be responsible for bringing down incumbents who have been in office for many successive terms despite performance indicators simply because the voters are convinced by the challengers of a need for change It is also argued that the holders of extensively powerful offices are subject to immense pressure which leaves them politically impotent and unable to command enough public confidence for re election such is the case for example with the Presidency of France 8 Voters who experience the negative economic shock of a loss of income are less likely to vote for an incumbent candidate than those who have not experienced such a shock 9 Nick Panagakis a pollster coined what he dubbed the incumbent rule in 1989 that any voter who claims to be undecided towards the end of the election will probably end up voting for a challenger 10 In France the phenomenon is known by the catchphrase Sortez les sortants Get out the outgoing representatives which was the slogan of the Poujadist movement in the 1956 French legislative election See also Politics portalList of current heads of state and government Lists of office holders Outgoing politician List of presidents who did not win reelection Rally round the flag effect Sophomore surge Virtual incumbentReferences OED 1989 p 834 OED 1989 p 218 OED 1989 p 124 Guy Molyneux The Big Five Oh The American Prospect 1 October 2004 a b Peskowitz Zachary 2017 05 01 Ideological Signaling and Incumbency Advantage British Journal of Political Science 49 2 467 490 doi 10 1017 S0007123416000557 ISSN 0007 1234 S2CID 157292602 de Benedictis Kessner Justin 2017 12 07 Off Cycle and Out of Office Election Timing and the Incumbency Advantage The Journal of Politics 80 119 132 doi 10 1086 694396 ISSN 0022 3816 S2CID 222440248 Chen J Incumbent Investopedia updated 27 January 2021 accessed 20 March 2021 Robert Tombs May 2 2017 France s Presidency Is Too Powerful to Work Polling Report Retrieved December 3 2017 Margalit Yotam 2019 05 11 Political Responses to Economic Shocks Annual Review of Political Science 22 1 277 295 doi 10 1146 annurev polisci 050517 110713 ISSN 1094 2939 Nick Panagakis February 27 1989 Incumbent Rule Polling Report Retrieved February 5 2016 SourcesOxford English Dictionary 2nd ed 1989 Print Further reading Look up incumbent in Wiktionary the free dictionary De Magalhaes L 2015 Incumbency effects in a comparative perspective Evidence from Brazilian mayoral elections Political Analysis 23 1 113 126 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Incumbent amp oldid 1128922776, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
