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