define racial gerrymandering (district lines drawn to favor or disadvantage an ethnic or a racial group) that it is one of three types of gerrymandering. Successful answers will highlight the fact that racial gerrymandering is a rather recent tactic (first used in 1982) and has produced controversial majority–minority districts. These districts have often been rejected by the courts because race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing congressional districts, although it may be taken into account. Recently, some of these majority–minority districts have been allowed because the court has been unable to disentangle racial gerrymandering from partisan gerrymandering.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

congressional elections are heavily influenced by the rules, especially in the House, where redistricting may alter competition dramatically every decade. Second, incumbents have enormous advantages over challengers (especially in the House) because of the representative functions they play (e.g., policy and casework) and the institutional advantages they enjoy (e.g., franking). The challengers who do succeed are usually high-quality challengers who have political experience (typically having held office before) and who are strategic politicians, meaning they consider the proper time to run against an incumbent: in open-seat races, after redistricting that is unfavorable to the incumbent’s party, when national trends and the president’s public standing are in their favor, or when coattail or midterm loss effects may be to their benefit. It is key for a challenger to raise money as well.