Fenno's paradox is the idea that people generally disapprove of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

as a whole but often support the

congressmen A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The ...

from their own

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

. The paradox is named after political scientist

Richard Fenno Richard Francis Fenno Jr. (December 12, 1926 – April 21, 2020) was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work on the U.S. Congress and its members. He was a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Roc ...

, who discussed this phenomenon in his 1978 book ''Home Style: House Members in Their Districts''. Fenno claimed that

would often run against Congress. Fenno's paradox has also been applied to areas other than politics, such as the public school system. For example, U.S. citizens on the whole disapprove of the

public school system A state school, public school, or government school is a primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-funded schools ar ...

but tend to approve of the particular local schools their children attend. Fenno's paradox also refers to the paradoxical phenomenon by which individual members of Congress tend to have higher approval ratings among their constituents compared to the overall approval rating of Congress as a whole. This discrepancy is often attributed to the advantages of incumbency, which include increased visibility, personal connections with constituents, and the ability to deliver benefits to their districts. The paradox highlights the complex relationship between public opinion and electoral outcomes in representative democracies.

Notes

Political science terminology Politics of Florida Decision-making paradoxes 1978 introductions {{US-poli-stub