incumbent

in·cum·bent

(ĭn-kŭm'bənt) pronunciation

adj.

Imposed as an obligation or duty; obligatory: felt it was incumbent on us all to help.
Lying, leaning, or resting on something else: incumbent rock strata.
Currently holding a specified office: the incumbent mayor.

n.
A person who holds an office or ecclesiastical benefice: The incumbent was reelected to another term.

[Middle English, holder of an office, from Medieval Latin incumbēns, incumbent-, from Latin, present participle of incumbere, to lean upon, apply oneself to : in-, on; see in-² + -cumbere, to recline.]

incumbently in·cum'bent·ly adv.

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incumbent

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Refers to an entity that is currently in power. For example, in politics, the "incumbent senator" is the person who holds that office today. An "incumbent company" is an organization that has been providing goods and services for some time. See ILEC.

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Oxford Guide to the US Government:

incumbents

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A person currently holding an elected position is an incumbent. Although incumbent is derived from the French word meaning “to lie down on,” those who lie down on the job will not hold their job for long. Voters want to know, “What have you done for me lately?” Incumbents in Congress must demonstrate their ability to legislate effectively and to provide services for their constituents. But incumbents generally enjoy a high rate of reelection over their challengers because of their greater ability to raise campaign funds and their use of the frank (free mailing) and other privileges of office that make them better known to the voters.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law:

Incumbent

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

An individual who is in current possession of a particular office and who is legally authorized to discharge the duties of that office.

Investopedia Financial Dictionary:

Incumbent

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An individual that is responsible for a specific office within a corporation.

Investopedia Says:
All incumbents of an organization, such as directors and officers, are listed on an incumbency certificate.

Related Links:
CEOs, CFOs, presidents and vice presidents: learn how to tell the difference. The Basics Of Corporate Structure
Financial statements don't tell you everything about a company's health. Investigate the management behind the numbers! Evaluating A Company's Management

Poker Rules and Terms:

Open Seat

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A unoccupied seat at any poker table.

SoundPoker Says: Before a poker table is opened there are usually ten open seats. If a poker game is in session and a player decides to leave, then there would be a "open seat".

See Also: Poker, Position, Table

Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Politics:

incumbent

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(in-kum-buhnt)

One who holds a public office. By virtue of their experience in office, their exposure to the public, and their ability to raise campaign funds, incumbents usually have a significant advantage over opponents if they choose to run for reelection.

Devil's Dictionary:

incumbent

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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

A person of the liveliest interest to the outcumbents.

Word Tutor:

incumbent

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IN BRIEF: The holder of an office who runs for reelection.

Asking an incumbent member of Congress to vote for term limits is a bit like asking a chicken to vote for Colonel Sanders. — Bob Inglis, Republican congressman from South Carolina.

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Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'incumbent'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier

For a list of words related to incumbent, see:

Politicians and Activists - incumbent: officeholder
Titles of Rank - incumbent: holder of office or ecclesiastical benefice

Rhymes:

incumbent

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See words rhyming with "incumbent."

Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:

incumbent

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See crossword solutions for the clue Incumbent.

Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Incumbent

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"Open seat" redirects here. For the tennis tournament, see Open SEAT.

For the ecclesiastical office, see Incumbent (ecclesiastical).

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Look up incumbent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent(s). For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W. Bush was the incumbent, because he was the president in the current term while the election sought to determine the president for the following term. A race without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat.

Contents

1 Etymology
2 Politics
3 Business
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References

Etymology

The word "incumbent" is derived from the Latin verb incumbere, literally meaning "to lean or lay upon" with the present participle stem incumbent-, "leaning a variant of encumber,^[1] while encumber is derived from the root cumber,^[2] most appropriately defined: "4. To occupy obstructively or inconveniently; to block fill up with what hinders freedom of motion or action; to burden, load."^[3]

Politics

In general, incumbents have structural advantages over challengers during elections. The timing of elections may be determined by the incumbent instead of a set schedule. For most political offices, the incumbent often has more name recognition due to their previous work in the office. Incumbents also have easier access to campaign finance, as well as government resources (such as the franking privilege) that can be indirectly used to boost a campaign. An election (especially for a legislature) in which no incumbent is running is often called an open seat; because of the lack of incumbency advantage, these are often amongst the most hotly-contested races in any election.

In the United States, incumbents traditionally win their party's nomination to run for office. Unseating an incumbent president, senator or other figure during a primary election is very difficult, and even in the general election, incumbents have a very strong record. For instance, the percentage of incumbents who win reelection after seeking it in the U.S. House of Representatives has been over 80% for over 50 years, and is often over 90%.^[4] However, this rate may be artificially inflated, as incumbents that feel unlikely to win may decline to run for reelection. Additionally, shifts in congressional districts due to reapportionment or other longer-term factors may make it more or less likely for an incumbent to win re-election over time. For example, a Democratic incumbent in historically conservative rural Texas would have less chance of winning than a Democratic incumbent in historically liberal New York City, because Texas has shifted away from the Democratic Party in terms of voting while New York City has shifted toward the same party (see also Congressional stagnation in the United States).

However, there exist scenarios in which the incumbency factor itself leads to the downfall of the incumbent. Popularly known as the anti-incumbency factor, situations of this kind occur when the incumbent has proven himself not worthy of office during his tenure and the challenger demonstrates this fact to the voters. An anti-incumbency factor can also be responsible for bringing down incumbents who have been in office for many successive terms in spite of performance indicators, simply because the voters are convinced by the challenger of a need for change. Nick Panagakis, a pollster, coined what he dubbed the "incumbent rule" in 1989--that any voter who claims to be undecided towards the end of the election will probably end up voting for the challenger^[5].

When newcomers vie to fill an open office, voters tend to compare and contrast the candidates' qualifications, issues positions and personal characteristics in a relatively straightforward way. Elections featuring an incumbent, on the other hand, are as Guy Molyneux puts it, "fundamentally a referendum on the incumbent."^[6] Voters will first grapple with the record of the incumbent. Only if they decide to "fire" the incumbent do they begin to evaluate whether the challenger is an acceptable alternative. At the same time, if the challenger is determined to be wholly unacceptable, voters might reluctantly vote for the incumbent.

Business

In business the term "incumbent" is used for the largest company in a certain industry, for instance the traditional phone company in telecommunications, typically called the "incumbent operator". In a sales process, such as public tender, incumbent may also refer to the vendor that has the largest existing commercial relationship with the issuer of the tender.

In large corporations it is the incumbent who is the holder of an office, or one that occupies a particular position.

Notes

^ OED (1989), p. 834
^ OED (1989), p. 218
^ OED (1989), p. 124
^ "Re-Election Rates Over the Years". Opensecrets.org. http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/reelect.php. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
^ Nick Panagakis (February 27, 1989). "Incumbent Rule". Polling Report. http://www.pollingreport.com/incumbent.htm. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
^ Guy Molyneux, The Big Five-Oh, The American Prospect, 1 October 2004.

References

Politics portal

Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Print.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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Translations:

Incumbent

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - siddende, påhvilende, overliggende
n. - indehaver af præstekald/embede

idioms:

incumbent upon som påhviler, påhvilende

Nederlands (Dutch)
zittend, ambtsdrager

Français (French)
adj. - en place, qu'il incombe à (qn) de faire
n. - titulaire (d'une fonction administrative), (Rel) bénéficiaire, personne qui exerce une charge

idioms:

incumbent upon qu'il incombe à qn (de faire)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - obliegend
n. - Amtsinhaber

idioms:

incumbent upon obliegend, zufallend, aufliegend, sich stützend

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - (ηθικά) δεσμευτικός, επιβεβλημένος
n. - κάτοχος αξιώματος ή θητεύων σ' αυτό

idioms:

incumbent upon ηθική επιταγή για

Italiano (Italian)
incombente, titolare, beneficiario

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - com a obrigação
n. - pessoa (f) incumbida

Русский (Russian)
священник, имеющий приход, занимающий пост, возлежащий

Español (Spanish)
adj. - en ejercicio, apoyado, titular, beneficiario, incumbente
n. - titular de un cargo, rector, vicario

idioms:

incumbent upon incumbir a uno

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - liggande (tungt), som åligger
n. - kyrkoherde, innehavare (av ämbete)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
凭依的, 负有义务的, 依靠的, 现任者, 在职者, 领圣俸者, 教区牧师

idioms:

incumbent upon 负有职责的, 义不容辞的, 必须履行的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 憑依的, 負有義務的, 依靠的
n. - 現任者, 在職者, 領聖俸者, 教區牧師

idioms:

incumbent upon 負有職責的, 義不容辭的, 必須履行的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 기대는, 의무로 지워지는, 쑥 내민
n. - 성직록을 받는 신부, 재직자, 현직자

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 現職の, 義務としてかかる, のしかかる, 義務である
n. - 聖職禄所有者, 現職者, 在職者

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) إلزامي, مستند إلى (الاسم) صاحب منصب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮חובה על, מחזיק במשרה, לוחץ על‬
n. - ‮כומר, מחזיק במשרה‬

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incumbent

in·cum·bent

incumbent

incumbents

Incumbent

Incumbent

Open Seat

incumbent

incumbent

incumbent

categories related to 'incumbent'

incumbent

incumbent

Incumbent

Etymology

Politics

Business

See also

Notes

References

Incumbent