Congress Members, Qualifications, and Elections

Congress Members•House of Representatives• 435 members• Members per state divided based on

population (total is always 435)• Every state is guaranteed one House Representative.• Represent a congressional district

Rep. Suzanne Bomanici,Oregon Congressional District 1

House Representatives represent one congressional district. (therefore, the U.S. has 435 districts).Districts are based on population.

Oregon has 5 congressional districts.

Districts are re-done following every census (every 10 years)

Congress Members•Senate• 100 members• 2 Members Per state•Represent the entire state

Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley (right) and Ron Wyden (left)

Terms and Term Limits• Senators: Elected for 6 year terms.•House Representatives: Elected for 2 year terms.• (more responsive to the desires of their constituents)

•Neither have term limits (can be elected an unlimited amount of times)

Formal Qualifications: House of Representatives

•House of Representatives:• Must be 25 years old• Must have been a United States

citizen for 7 years• Must be residents of the states

in which they are running for election.

Formal Qualifications: Senate•Senate• Must be 30 years old• Must have had U.S. citizenship for 9 years• Must be a resident of the state you are running for

election in.

Informal Qualifications• Experience in politics and public

service• Clean legal background• Access to money for funding

campaign• Personable

Incumbents

• Incumbent: Current occupant of political office.• Significance:• Incumbents have an advantage

in elections.• Experience• Track Record• Easily Recognizable

Constituent• A voting member of a

community

Activity: Running for Congress• You will create a resume and campaign

poster for a prospective candidate running for Congress. • You can create the resume and poster for

yourself *or* a fictional candidate.Include:• Your Qualifications:• Formal (age, citizenship, residency)• Informal (background and experience)

• Stance on a couple issues (think of issues that are relevant to your local community)

• Political Party• Statement on why constituents should vote

for you

Poster:• Striking visual design or color scheme• Slogan or catchphrase