Here’s a fun chart – it’s a list of all the members of the House who have scored 70% or less in a primary so far this year:
| Incumbent | Party | District | %age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inglis | (R) | SC-04 | 28% | TARP [RUNOFF] |
| Burton | (R) | IN-05 | 30% | |
| Griffith | (R) | AL-05 | 33% | Ex-Dem [LOST] |
| Mollohan | (D) | WV-01 | 44% | Ethics [LOST] |
| Souder | (R) | IN-03 | 48% | TARP [RESIGNED] |
| Miller | (R) | CA-42 | 49% | TARP, Ethics |
| Kanjorski | (D) | PA-11 | 49% | Ethics |
| Lance | (R) | NJ-07 | 56% | Cap-and-trade |
| Hall | (R) | TX-04 | 57% | TARP, Ex-Dem, Age |
| Simpson | (R) | ID-02 | 58% | TARP |
| Harman | (D) | CA-36 | 59% | Blue Dog |
| Shuler | (D) | NC-11 | 62% | HCR |
| Schmidt | (R) | OH-02 | 62% | TARP |
| Kissell | (D) | NC-08 | 63% | HCR |
| McHenry | (R) | NC-10 | 63% | |
| Terry | (R) | NE-02 | 63% | TARP |
| Coble | (R) | NC-06 | 64% | TARP, Age |
| Herger | (R) | CA-02 | 65% | TARP |
| Holden | (D) | PA-17 | 65% | HCR |
| Lewis | (R) | CA-41 | 66% | TARP, Ethics |
| Calvert | (R) | CA-44 | 67% | TARP, Ethics |
| Davis | (D) | IL-07 | 67% | Considered other office |
| Jackson-Lee | (D) | TX-18 | 67% | |
| Rahall | (D) | WV-03 | 67% | |
| Richardson | (D) | CA-37 | 68% | Ethics |
| Hill | (D) | IN-09 | 69% | |
| Smith | (R) | NJ-04 | 69% | Cap-and-trade, TARP |
| Wilson | (D) | OH-06 | 69% | |
| Bono Mack | (R) | CA-45 | 70% | Cap-and-trade, TARP |
| Platts | (R) | PA-19 | 70% | Sought Obama appointment |
| Granger | (R) | TX-12 | 70% | TARP |
I’ve also included some notes on possible reasons for these poor performances: Dems who voted against healthcare reform, Republicans who voted for the bailout or cap-and-trade, ethical issues on either side, and a few other odds-and-ends. For a complete list of all members of Congress and their primary percentages, click here. So far, 89 (38D, 51R) incumbents have faced primaries while 141 have not (and another 13 open seats have been contested). Of those in primaries, the median vote share has been 74% (76% D, 73% R).
So what’s the usual median vote share? Are we lower than average, or stastically the same?
And seeing someone who got 30% who will find up back in Congress makes me a run-off proponant.
Wow, if the teabaggers could agree to unite behind one candidate instead of 25 of them clobbering each other, they’d have this seat no problem.
I always knew that Watermelon Dan was pretty sad, but his magnitude of sadness is really put into a much starker perspective in a table like this. As it is, Danny Boy is the ONLY guy on this list (counting Souder) who scored less than 48% and WASN’T primaried. 30% for an incumbent in a primary should be death.
There’s no way this guy is still around by 2014. Either he’ll finally get primaried, or, (more likely), Luke Messer will make spooky noises in his general direction and he’ll just retire.
Either way, I think “Indiana’s Fifth District” might be SSP for “Pass the popcorn”.
There is probably a decent number of folks who scored above 70% who similarly could have the same notes written about them (except maybe on ethics).
I’m pretty sure Wilson voted for HCR.
funny is Hill’s top opponent was a LaRouchie running on a platform of impeaching Obama. She got a substantial amount of votes, coming in second. LOL, I don’t know why, a lot of nuts in Bloomington I suppose.
don’t forget about that Israel wiretap scandal thingy whatever it was.