Please click here for updated addresses. Contact our webmaster . But more often than not, says an expert in voter behavior, the people sit back and leave the bums in. Issues, platforms and personalities are all important to the outcome of an election, but being an incumbent can sometimes be the most influential factor of all, said Cristine de Clercy, a political scientist at the University of Saskatchewan.
Incumbents seem to have a natural advantage over challengers in that regard.
She said that is particularly true in local and regional elections and in cases where turnout is low. Perhaps not surprisingly, the incumbents and the challengers running in the Canadian Wheat Board director elections have somewhat different views of the power of incumbency. The challengers see it as a major hurdle to overcome as they try to win office. The incumbents see it as a mixed blessing. Glen Leggott, running in District 6 against incumbent Ian McCreary, said given the size of the CWB districts, it's impossible for a candidate to meet more than a tiny percentage of potential voters.