Not Throwing the Bums Out This Year

Kyle Kondik: “With the primary season more than half over, it’s fair to say that incumbents have done just fine this cycle so far: better than fine, in fact.”

“So far this cycle, 273 of 275 House incumbents who wanted another term have been renominated, and 18 of 18 Senate incumbents. That includes results from the 31 states that have held their initial primaries; while a few of those states — Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina — have runoffs coming up later this month, those overtime elections for House or Senate seats are all in open seats. This is a better performance than the postwar averages in both chambers.”