CQ Politics has an interesting article on U.S. Senate appointees today. The reason why the article is interesting is because of this fact:
Since the 17th Amendment established procedures for filling vacancies in 1913, only 60 of the 180 men and women appointed to the Senate - an even one-third ratio - have won the next election in their own right, according to records kept by the Senate.
Of the remaining 120, 63 did not run, 56 ran and lost, and one, South Carolina's Alva Moore Lumpkin, died two weeks after his appointment in 1941.
While a slim majority of appointed senators who sought election did win, their success rate pales in comparison to the overall incumbent-retention record in the Senate, with a low of 64 percent and a high of 96.9 percent in the 25 elections dating back to 1960.
I doubt that information will scare away possible appointees like Caroline Kennedy, Rep. Steve Israel and Rep. Carolyn Maloney. But the information is worth talking about.
Governor David Paterson wants to appoint someone who will help him politically, but also someone who will win in 2010. He has already shot down any speculation that he would appoint a caretaker for the seat. So we are looking for someone who will hold the seat and run for re-election in 2010.
But if I were Paterson, I would keep history in the back of my mind. The numbers don't look good for appointees running for election. If I were Paterson, I wouldn't completely rule out the caretaker option. |
