A sophomore surge (sometimes referred to in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

as first-term incumbency bonus) is a term used in the

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

that refers to an increase in votes that congressional candidates (candidates for the House of Representatives) usually receive when running for their first re-election. The phrase has been adopted in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

by psephologist Malcolm Mackerras who is well known for his electoral pendulums.

History

This phenomenon first started in the 1960s. As of 1998, freshman candidates running for a second term now get eight to ten percent more votes than when they were elected for their first term. (Over ninety percent of all incumbent House members are reelected.)

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

members also currently benefit from a sophomore surge, though it is to a lesser degree. The reason for the sophomore surge is attributed to the fact that congressmen have figured out how to run personal campaigns rather than

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

campaigns. They make use of their free, or “ franked,” mail; frequent home trips;

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcasts; and service distribution to their

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

in order to create a good opinion of themselves, not their party, among their constituents.

References

* DiIulio, John J., Jr., and James Q. Wilson. '' American Government'', 1998

Houghton Mifflin Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Fina ...

. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97-72562. . Political science terminology Terminology of the United States Congress {{US-poli-stub