Senate Incumbent Visibility over the Election Cycle

Bibliographic Data

ID6300613
AuthorsCharles H Franklin (corresponding author)
Year1993
Volume18
Issue2
Pages271
Publication date1993-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLegislative Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0362-9805 • E-ISSN: 1939-9162
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2307/439994
OpenAlexW2321540133
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited2

Candidate visibility has become a key variable in the study of congressional elections. There is ample evidence that visibility is a substantial advantage, one which almost always favors incumbents. In this paper I trace the visibility of members of the U.S. Senate between their bids for reelection and over their political careers. I find that there is a moderate drop off of visibility near the midpoint of a Senate term, and a fairly sizable rise in prominence in the two years leading up to a reelection bid. Yet, even in the middle of the term, incumbent senators remain quite salient in the minds of the public. Over an entire career, visibility cumulates for some perceptions and does not cumulate much for others. This differential accretion of visibility may have important consequences. Finally, I argue for the need to study perceptions of incumbents outside of the election period. The time of governing is at the center of a republican society, yet we have few studies of how governing is linked to public perceptions of incumbents

Geography · Political science · Visibility · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Media and Politics

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub