How to Become a Member of the House of Representatives
Being a member of the House of Representatives is difficult for most to imagine considering the political climate within the last several years. With the way a candidate's life comes under heavy scrutiny and commentary, it is hard to understand why one would run for a position in the House of Representatives.
Every two years, candidates in the hundreds run for a position. Some run in order to change a specific policy, while others feel a sense of civic duty to their country. Then there are others who seek a position in order to use that as a steppingstone for something higher up.
According to the U.S. Constitution, there are three requirements that one must have in order to enter in the House of Representatives:
1. You must be a minimum of twenty-five years old at the time of inauguration.
2. You must be a resident of the state in which your district resides.
3. You must have been a U.S. citizen for seven years prior to inauguration.
Those requirements are just the technical qualifications for becoming a member in the House of Representatives. Most successful Congressional candidates are ones that have been respected and long-standing members within their community. Also, most are wealthy and upper-income individuals who are active in local organizations, and at least have some political experience whether it is on a local or state level. There are very few novices that make it in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Being elected in the House of Representatives is one of the most difficult assignments in all of politics. However, those incumbents almost never lose when up for re-election. In fact in the 2000 Congressional elections alone, only six incumbents failed to get re-elected.
One reason that incumbents usually get re-elected is because of having better access to media, and they almost always have better funding than their challengers. Furthermore, members can accumulate political gain in their districts by conducting town hall meetings, sending mail out that highlights their accomplishments, and bringing home projects that benefit the local industry they represent.
All in all, running for membership in the House of Representatives is tougher than the duties one is responsible for when elected. The best bet for entry is to once again have some political experience and be a highly respected member within your community.
Source: American Government by author Nick Ragone
Published by David Funk
David currently works as a Merchandising Specialist supervising crews and assisting Crew Coordinators in doing store resets and remodels for various retailers. Traveling is a big part of his job. He writes... View profile
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11 Comments
Post a Commentsorry about the mistake. the 2nd sentence is supposed to say,"thank you for this valuable info i really needed to know."
although i am young, i am looking for a career in law, maybe even in government. thank you for this valuable info that i really now. right now i am looking to get a JD at SMU. then i would like to go to the University of Texas to get some type of law masters degree. what type if masters of law degree would you recommend. and i am in the 8th grade.
your mom goes to college!!!!!
I want to serve my country, some on here mentioned that the wealthy runs this, but what happened to the old days when regular people ran this we are still here obviously as you can see. I have no political experience, but I'm willing to make a different.
YOu said, "it is hard to understand why one would run for a position in the House of Representatives." Not really because according to wikipedia they got a salary of $174,000! I would be running to get elected too, to get a salary like that.
I am considering running. I feel we need a voice that will support the working families of Maine. The ones struggling to make ends meet. The ones who are the backbone of this economy and maine. without us there would be no wealthy to run for representative. Let's quit paying more taxes and start paying bills with the tax money we are already paying. Towns should pay for sewer & water out of the tax money each home owner pays. Taxes go up and what are we getting above & beyond what we had the year before, other than a higher bill at the end of the year.
How sad that candidates are bought and sold by lobbyist!That is not what the founding fathers envisioned when they framed our Constitution. They fled countries controlled by wealthy Monarchies,State instituted churches.
How exactly does one get elected by being a "well-respected member of the community"? Well-respected is a term that typically only refers to rich people with rich friends, it doesn't mean that you have accomplishments that would qualify you for respect. I also find it sad that there are so many "requirements" for any political position these days that no one who isn't rich and therefore well-connected can get in. What happened to whoever wants to run gets put on the ballot and the voters make a decision? Apparently we're all too stupid to vote.
i would love to be able to read articles off your website but due to the pop up ads it makes it almost impossible.
what is up with these age requirements? that's why passionate politicians don't exist, everyone's burnt out by the time they can run. 25's not old but what's the point? If a 20 y o can garner the support of the people let him represent his or her people. And 30 for the senate is ridiculous.