Pollster says incumbents have advantage despite low approval ratings

Republican pollster Ashlee Rich Stephenson said on Wednesday that “the power of incumbency” outweighs low approval ratings to get lawmakers reelected.

“It’s the power of incumbency,” Stephenson, chief strategy officer at WPA Intelligence, told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking.” 

“All of the things you are offered being an incumbent, your name ID raises, it’s easier for you to generate the kind of dollars you need, resources, those sorts of things,” she continued. 

“The power of incumbency we know cannot be overlooked,” she said. 

Congress faces dismal approval ratings. 

As of December, 18 percent of respondents said they approved of the job Congress was doing, while 75 percent said they disapproved, according to Gallup.

Eighty-four percent of incumbent senators were reelected in the 2018 midterm elections, while 91 percent of incumbents in the House were elected to another term, according to Open Secrets data.

— Julia Manchester