Incumbents in U.S. House Elections, 1996
| Winning Percentage, 1996 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year First Elected | Sought Re- Election | Win- Loss | Untouch- ables* | Under 55% ** | 55% <60% *** | 60% <65% | 65% <70% | 70% <80% | 80% -100% |
| <1970 | 10 | 10-0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1970s | 48 | 46-2 | 31 | 5 (2) | 8 (4) | 7 | 11 | 9 | 6 |
| 1980s | 113 | 113-0 | 86 | 6 (2) | 12 (1) | 24 | 29 | 25 | 17 |
| 1990-92 | 121 | 115-6 | 78 | 12 (4) | 23 (7) | 24 | 21 | 21 | 14 |
| 1994 | 90 | 77-13 | 21 | 28 (3) | 19 (1) | 11 | 11 | 3 | 5 |
| 1996 | - | [74 Elected] | - | 43 (3) | 15 (3) | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| TOTALS | 382 | 361-21 | 223 | 94 (14) | 79 (16) | 81 | 74 | 61 | 46 |
* Untouchable is defined as winning last two elections by landslide (over 20% margin).
** In parentheses is the total still won by over 10%, the traditional dividing line between a marginal and non-marginal election. Note that one incumbent elected in 1990-2 won a landslide victory with less than 55%.
*** In parentheses is the total still won by over 20%, the traditional definition of a landslide win.
Revealing Facts
1. Entrenched incumbents: The win-loss record for incumbents first elected before 1990 was 169-2. 162 of these winners (96%) won by at least a margin of 10%. 141 of the 169 (83%) won by at least a landslide of 20%. Nearly two-thirds won by margins of two-to-one.
2. Competition and seniority: Of the 284 incumbents who won re-election and were first elected before 1994, 95% (269) won by at least 10%. In contrast, only 46% (34) of the 74 candidates first elected in 1996 won by more than 10%.
Produced in July 1997
by The Center for Voting and Democracy
PO Box 60037, Washington, DC 20039