Electoral competition
Competition between political parties or candidates
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- 3 chapters
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Through Competition, Electoral system and Political party
Roemer model of political competition
The Roemer model of political competition is a game between political parties in which each party announces a multidimensional policy vector. Since Nash equilibria do not normally exist when the policy space is multidimensional, John Roemer introduced the concept of party-unanimity Nash equilibrium (PUNE), which can be considered an application of the concept of Nash equilibrium to political competition. It is also a generalization of the Wittman model of political competition.
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Effect on corruption
Political competitiveness can affect the level of political corruption.
By country
United States
As of 1984, in American federal elections, races for U.S. Senate tended to be more competitive than those for U.S. House of Representatives. In the 21st century, competition in elections has disappeared; even in wave election years, the vast majority of U.S. House members have been keeping their seats, with little pressure from the opposing party. Competition in U.S. House races has been in decline since at least the 1960s.
In February 2025, The New York Times spoke of the death of competition in elections, which "were decided by low-turnout" of just 57,000 people voting for politicians in U.S. House primary elections rendering these "meaningless". Also, more than three-quarters of primary races in 2024 were uncontested and only 287 of more than 4,600 primaries were "meaningful". This has contributed to eroding trust in government. Apart from gerrymandering in the United States, there has been an aggregation of like-minded voters, because they have moved into the same neighborhoods and communities.