Steve Poizner writes today: "Of the 459 elections for Assembly, state Senate and Congress since the gerrymander of California's legislative districts following the 2000 Census, only a single seat changed partisan hands. In those same 459 elections, only a single incumbent lost." Also, no incumbent California Congressman lost in 2004 or 2006. Only 2 of those 101 races were won by less than 20%. Re-election rates in the U.S. House have averaged above 94% over the last quarter century, and have hit 98% in several recent elections. "Once elected to Congress, a lawmaker stands more chance of dying in office than he does of being beaten even in a party primary, where the built-in advantage of a one-party district should not be as much help. [As of 2000], ten members of Congress have died since November 1992, while only eight have lost in primary challenges." For a map color-coded to show the uncompetitiveness of the 2006 congressional election, see http://marketliberal.org/Rigged.jpg. For more info, see http://www.fairvote.org/op_eds/cong2000.htm.
