When Incumbency Fails: The Senate Career of Mark Andrews

by Richard F. Fenno Jr.

Book by Fenno, Richard F.

309 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1992

About the author

Richard Francis Fenno Jr. was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work on the U.S. Congress and its members. He was Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Rochester. He published numerous books and scholarly articles focused on how members of Congress interacted with each other, with committees, and with constituents. Political scientists considered the research groundbreaking and startlingly original and gave him numerous awards. Many followed his research design on how to follow members from Washington back to their home districts. Fenno was best known for identifying the tendency — dubbed "Fenno’s Paradox" — of how most voters say they dislike Congress as a whole, but they trust and reelect their local Congressperson.--Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sounds like an unsolvable mystery: how could an incumbent United State Senator who has a track record of achieving win after win at the ballot box suddenly lose? The author does a great job of writing a good academic tome about how Senators go about their work. But, the mystery of Senator Mark Andrews loss in 1986 really isn't one when the issues surrounding his 1986 bid for re-election are discussed.