Kentucky 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Almost every US citizen over the age of 25 has the right to become a member of the House of Representatives. But, only two or three people usually run in an election. Why is that? In today's elections, the influence of the media and parties have caused many more factors than just the formal constrains to influence who runs for office. The "recruitment funnel" is a way of describing the process in which we select candidates to run for public office. This idea is one in which many different concepts are combined to form one solid idea. In this paper, I will show different facets of the funnel and the effects of each by examining a particular region of the United States.The region that I will examine consists of the first, second, third, and fourth districts of Kentucky. These regions are diverse not only between them, but inside of the boundaries of each. For example, the 4th district "has some of the most Democratic counties in America, like Elliot County (65%-21% for Bill Clinton), and some of the most Republican territory in Kentucky, like Oldham County(57%-34% for Bob Dole)." The districts vary in economic status as well, ranging from coal mining towns to rich suburbs. But each district has its own story and its own vastly different constituents.The Kentucky first has traditionally been a democratic district. This is due mainly to little economic growth in the region and to the low wages of its residents. In fact the region has only had 1 republican since the creation of the district in 1912. However democratic they are, the district is still very conservative, and likes conservative democrats. The area of this district runs from the west most part of the state, bordering the Mississippi and the Ohio, and covers almost a third of the state. From 1974 till 1990, Dem. Carroll Hubbard held the seat and ran unopposed for 7 of those terms. In the '74 primary, Hubbard beat out well-established ...
