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Electoral competition or electoral competitiveness describes the amount of competition in electoral politics between candidates or political parties, usually measured by the margin of victory.^[1] The Polity data series includes a measure of political competition.^[2]

United States

In American federal elections, races for U.S. Senate tend to be more competitive than those for U.S. House of Representatives.^[3] Even in wave election years, the vast majority of U.S. House members keep their seats, with little pressure from the opposing party.^[4] Competition in U.S. House races has been in decline since at least the 1960s.^[5]