The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent(s). For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W. Bush was the incumbent, because he was the president in the current term while the election sought to determine the president for the following term. A race without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat.

Etymology

The words "incumbent" is derived from the Latin verb ''incumbere'', literally meaning "to lean or lie upon" with the present participle stem ''incumbent-'', "leaning a variant of ''encumber,'' while encumber is derived from the root ''cumber'', most appropriately defined: "4. To occupy obstructively or inconveniently; to block fill up with what hinders freedom of motion or action; to burden, load."

Politics

In general, incumbents have structural advantages over challengers during elections. The timing of elections may be determined by the incumbent instead of a set schedule. For most political offices, the incumbent often has more name recognition due to their previous work in the office. Incumbents also have easier access to campaign finance, as well as government resources (such as the franking privilege) that can be indirectly used to boost a campaign. An election (especially for a legislature) in which no incumbent is running is often called an open seat; because of the lack of incumbency advantage, these are often amongst the most hotly-contested races in any election.

In the United States, incumbents traditionally win their party's nomination to run for office. Unseating an incumbent president, senator or other figure during a primary election is very difficult; see incumbency advantage. In particular, barring major scandal or controversy, about 94% of congressional incumbents win re-election to their seats, though this may not reflect the fact that some incumbents, faced with unfriendly re-election prospects, may resign in order to make way for their party to nominate a candidate more likely to win. However, shifts in congressional districts due to reapportionment or other longer-term factors may make it more or less likely for an incumbent to win re-election over time. For example, a Democratic incumbent in historically conservative rural Texas would have less chance of winning than a Democratic incumbent in historically liberal New York City, because Texas has shifted away from the Democratic Party in terms of voting while New York City has shifted toward the same party (see also Congressional stagnation in the United States).

However, there exist scenarios in which the incumbency factor itself leads to the downfall of the incumbent. Popularly known as the anti-incumbency factor, situations of this kind occur when the incumbent has proven himself not worthy of office during his tenure and the challenger demonstrates this fact to the voters. An anti-incumbency factor can also be responsible for bringing down incumbents who have been in office for many successive terms in spite of performance indicators, simply because the voters are convinced by the challenger of a need for change.

When newcomers vie to fill an open office, voters tend to compare and contrast the candidates' qualifications, issues positions and personal characteristics in a relatively straightforward way. Elections featuring an incumbent, on the other hand, are as Guy Molyneux puts it, "fundamentally a referendum on the incumbent." Voters will first grapple with the record of the incumbent. Only if they decide to "fire" the incumbent do they begin to evaluate whether the challenger is an acceptable alternative. At the same time, if the challenger is determined to be wholly unacceptable, voters might reluctantly vote for the incumbent.

Business

In business the term "incumbent" is used for the largest company in a certain industry, for instance the traditional phone company in telecommunications, typically called the "incumbent operator". In a sales process, such as public tender, incumbent may also refer to the vendor that has the largest existing commercial relationship with the issuer of the tender.

In large corporations it is the incumbent who is the holder of an office, or one that occupies a particular position.

See also

Lists of office-holders

List of current heads of state and government

Outgoing president

Notes

References

''Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. Print.

Category:Political terms

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''Not to be confused with Dan Shulman the ESPN broadcaster''

Dan Schulman joined American Express as Group President, Enterprise Growth, in 2010. He is responsible for the company’s global strategy to expand alternative mobile and online payment services, form new partnerships and build revenue streams beyond the traditional card and travel businesses.

Schulman joined American Express from Sprint Nextel Corporation, where he has served as President of Sprint’s Prepaid group since 2009. Before joining Sprint, he was the founding CEO of Virgin Mobile USA, where he led the company from its concept stage and national launch in 2002 to become one of the nation’s top wireless carriers, with more than 5 million customers and $1.3 billion in annual sales.

Prior to joining Virgin Mobile USA, Schulman served as the chief executive officer of Priceline.com, where he established one of the most popular and recognized brands on the Internet, and was a primary architect in driving the company to profitability. Before that, Schulman served more than 18 years at AT&T;, becoming the youngest member of the company’s most senior executive team, the AT&T; Operations Group. When Schulman left AT&T;, he was president of the $22 billion core consumer long distance business.

Named by Business Week as one of the top 20 people to watch in media, and recently named the Ernst & Young 2009 Entrepreneur Of The Year and one of the top 25 most powerful people in the global wireless industry, Schulman was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. Growing up, Schulman played football, tennis and lacrosse at Princeton High. He then earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Middlebury College and a Masters in Business Administration, majoring in Finance, from New York University. Schulman currently serves on the Board of Governors of Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey.

Schulman is a member of the Board of Directors of Symantec (SYMC-NASDAQ) and of Flextronics (FLEX-NASDAQ). Schulman chairs the Compensation Committee of SYMC, serves on the board of Autism Speaks, and also serves on the advisory committee of Greycroft, a private equity company focused on early stage new media and technology companies.

Schulman lives with his wife and two children in New Jersey.

See also

American Express

Sprint Nextel

Boost Mobile

Virgin Mobile USA

Notes

External links

Reuters - American Express taps Sprint exec Schulman

Bloomberg Businessweek - AmEx Hires Sprint’s Schulman, Names Leonsis to Board

Dan Schulman - Facebook

Dan Schulman - LinkedIn

Dan Schulman - Google Profile

Dan Schulman - YouTube Channel

The Innovators article featuring Dan Schulman

Washington Post article featuring Dan Schulman

BusinessWeek article featuring Dan Schulman

eWeek article featuring Dan Schulman

NYSE Magazine article featuring Dan Schulman

Wall Street Journal article featuring Dan Schulman

USA Today article featuring Dan Schulman

U.S. News article featuring Dan Schulman

About Homelessness article featuring Dan Schulman

Dan Schulman Photo - Sir Richard Branson

Dan Schulman Photo - Jewel

Dan Schulman Photo - Flavor Flav

Category:American chief executives Category:Living people Category:Middlebury College alumni

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Joe Saunders| positionPitcher| teamArizona Diamondbacks| number34| batsLeft| throwsLeft| birth_dateJune 16, 1981| birthplaceSpringfield, Virginia| debutdateAugust 16| debutyear2005| debutteamLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim| statyearAugust 27, 2011| stat1labelWin-Loss record| stat1value66-50| stat2labelEarned run average| stat2value4.20| stat4labelStrikeouts| stat4value533| awards All-Star Selection (2008)| teams Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (–) Arizona Diamondbacks (-present) }}

Joseph Francis Saunders (born June 16, 1981 in Falls Church, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He attended West Springfield High School in Springfield, Virginia.

College and minor league career

Saunders played college baseball at Virginia Tech, where he compiled a 27-7 career record. His 27 wins tied him for third place in most career wins in school history.

Saunders was drafted in the 1st round (12th overall) by the then Anaheim Angels in . After being promoted to Single-A Cedar Rapids in 2002, he missed the entire season due to an injury in his left shoulder. He returned to the game with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in and went 9-7 with a 3.41 ERA. He was promoted to Double-A Arkansas in 2004, and recorded a 7-4 record with two complete games in .

Saunders was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake and was 10-7 with three complete games, including two shutouts, earning honors as the Angels Organization's Pitcher of the Year. He made his major league debut on August 16 against the Toronto Blue Jays, receiving a no decision after closer Francisco Rodriguez blew the save in a 4-3 loss for the Angels.

Saunders was sent back down to Salt Lake, but recalled on September 6 to start against the Seattle Mariners on September 14. Once again, he received a no-decision in a 10-9 defeat, and was optioned to Salt Lake. Though he was not placed on the playoff roster, he was re-signed by the Angels to a one-year contract.

He was named #37 of the top 50 minor league baseball players in 2006 by Minor League News.

Major league career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

After Bartolo Colón was placed on the disabled list during the season, Saunders was recalled a final time and replaced Colon in the rotation. Before Saunders received his first loss, he compiled a 4-0 record. He ended the season with a 7-3 record and a 4.71 ERA.

Saunders began the season in the rotation while Colon remained on the disabled list. He was optioned to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees on April 21, 2007, to make room for Colon's return. Saunders made two spot starts for when a pitcher on the Angel's normal rotation was injured: for Colon (triceps tendinitis) on June 2, 2007, against the Baltimore Orioles and for Jered Weaver (bruised shoulder) on June 22, 2007, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was called up for a third time on July 21, 2007, to replace Ervin Santana in the starting rotation when Santana was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.

As the only active major league player at the time from Virginia Tech, Saunders received special dispensation to wear a Virginia Tech cap during the April 20, 2007, game against the Seattle Mariners to honor the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. Saunders also wore the initials "VT" on his cleats and drew the Virginia Tech logo on the back of the pitcher's mound before the start of the game. He picked up the win after pitching six shutout innings.

In , Saunders entered spring training in a competition with Santana for the role of 5th starter in the Angels rotation. After the Angels' co-aces John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar sustained injuries, both Saunders and Santana were promoted to full time roles as the 3rd and 4th starter, respectively. In the first third of the season, both players shone brightly, with both being considered early candidates for the American League Cy Young Award. On June 3, 2008, Saunders became the American League's first 9 game winner in a 5-4 victory over division rivals the Seattle Mariners. Saunders gave up only 1 earned run, lowering his ERA to 3rd best in the American League in the process. Saunders also then became the first American League pitcher to get 11 wins, giving up only 2 earned runs to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 21, 2008. Following the 2008 season Saunders was asked to join the USA Baseball team for the 2009 World Baseball Classic however, Saunders declined the request due to not being in shape for the tournament.

Saunders was the opening day pitcher for the Angels in the 2009 season, and got off to a good start.

On May 9, 2009, Saunders had his first complete game shutout against the Kansas City Royals.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On July 25, 2010 he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Dan Haren. Two minor league pitchers, left hander Patrick Corbin and right hander Rafael Rodriguez, and Tyler Skaggs also went to Arizona.

Personal life

Saunders is married to his Virginia Tech classmate, the former Shanel Garofalo. They have one daughter, Mattea, born on July 13, 2008. In an interview he described himself, "My personality is laid back and very low key. I like to have fun, and I like to hang out and be with family and friends. Then, once I get on the field, everything changes. I don’t think about any family, any friends, any babies, or anyone at all. Once I’m out there on that mound, I’m all business. I don’t think about anything except getting that hitter out any way I can."

References

External links

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim players Category:Arizona Diamondbacks players Category:American League All-Stars Category:Baseball players from Virginia Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:People from Falls Church, Virginia Category:Virginia Tech alumni Category:Provo Angels players Category:Cedar Rapids Kernels players Category:Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Category:Arkansas Travelers players Category:Salt Lake Stingers players Category:Salt Lake Bees players

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Name	Lauren Mitchell
Fullname	Lauren Mitchell
Country
Birth date	July 23, 1991
Birth place	Subiaco, WA, Australia
Hometown	Perth, WA, Australia
Discipline	WAG
Level	Senior
Show-medals	yes
Medaltemplates	}}

Lauren Mitchell (born 23 July 1991, in Subiaco, Western Australia) is an Australian artistic gymnast. She is the 2010 World Champion on floor and the 2009 World Championships silver medalist on balance beam and floor. Mitchell is only the second Australian woman gymnast to win medals at a World Championships, and the first to win gold. She currently (2010) trains at the Western Australian Institute of Sport and is studying for a degree in biomedical science at The University of Notre Dame Australia's Fremantle campus.

Career

2007

In 2007, her first year as a Senior Gymnast, she was the Australian Balance Beam Champion. Mitchell competed at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships where the Australian team finished a disappointing 11th in the preliminary competition. However, Mitchell qualified for the Balance Beam event final, where she placed a very respectable 5th, equalling Monette Russo as Australia's highest ever finisher in a Balance Beam World Final. Mitchell later stated that she was nervous prior to the final, but pretended she was in training to calm her nerves.

After her strong showing at her debut World Championships, Mitchell went on to compete in several international events. At the DTB Cup in Germany, she won a Silver Medal on Beam and a Bronze medal on floor. She followed this up at the Good Luck Beijing event (a warm up for the venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics), where she won the silver medal on the balance beam in what was a very competitive line up.

2008

She competed for Australia in the women's artistic team all-around event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In December 2008 Mitchell became the first Australian gymnast to win a gold medal at a World Cup final when she won gold on the balance beam in Madrid. She would also, technically, hold the title indefinitely as the World Cup Final series has since been disbanded

2009

In July 2009, Mitchell took first place in the all-around at the Australian National Championships in Perth with a score of 112.325 to claim her first national title. She also won titles on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise convincingly. After two successful days of trial competition in Canberra, which included a new Yurchenko double vault, Mitchell was included in the 2009 London World Championships team (with the opportunity to compete on all four apparatus).

In October at the 2009 London World Championships, Mitchell finished fourth all-around by only 0.025, which was especially disappointing since she took a 0.1 deduction on floor for stepping out of bounds. Mitchell rallied during the apparatus finals by winning two silver medals, the highest placing of any Australian female gymnast at a World championships at that time. She won the silver on balance beam with a score of 14.825, .125 behind Deng Linlin, and won silver on floor with a score of 14.550, .100 behind Beth Tweddle.

2010

At the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, Mitchell won gold with the Australian team. She then went on to win gold in the all-around, on the uneven bars, and balance beam, thereby giving her a total of 4 gold medals. She also won silver in the floor exercise. Mitchell's success in winning 4 gold medals is a record at the Commonwealth Games for a female gymnast which she holds jointly with Lori Strong of Canada who accomplished the same feat at the Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games. Strong though has the slightly better overall record in that she also won 2 silvers to Mitchell's 1. Mitchell's achievement, however, was especially impressive in light of the fact that prior to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she had been out injured for almost a year with hand, ankle, and groin injuries.

On missing out on beating Strong's Commonwealth record for medals won and missing out on Gold in the floor exercise, Mitchell said: "Even though it would have been nice to have five gold medals, I think for me it would have been too perfect...And now it gives me something extra to strive for because if I had got the gold in every single event I competed in, it would have been like 'what's next?'."

Mitchell next competed at the 2010 World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam which took place from the 16–24 October 2010. She finished 6th with the Australian team and finished 6th in the all-around. She then won gold in the floor exercise, which was the first world championship for a female Australian gymnast - Philippe Rizzo being the only male Australian artistic gymnast to win a world championship, having won the high bar at the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. She also finished fourth on the balance beam.

On winning Gold at the World Championships, Mitchell stated, "I had to look at the score again...I think I nearly started crying. It didn't feel like my routine was so good but obviously it was... Coming from the beginning of the year and not competing at any events until the Commonwealth Games, it is a fantastic feeling". She added: "I wanted to prove on the floor that I belonged in the top three...I wanted to prove to the judges that Australia is up there with the world...I know I had a few landing errors...But my leaps and jumps were pretty good. I'd never done a triple pivot in a floor routine before, so that was a first...I thought I'd come fourth again...I had to look twice at the scoreboard. I thought it was a 14.6. Then when I realised it was a 14.8, and I knew that the Russian had got a 14.7, I had to think. Is an eight more than a seven? I was in shock". Western Australian Institute of Sport gymnastics program manager, Liz Chetkovich, believed failing to win Gold in the floor exercise at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and to take Lori Strong's Commonwealth record in terms of medals won was the motivational force behind Mitchell's World Championships success, stating: "For her, not having the icing on the cake was a very good thing...It was a real motivator for her, and fortunately it helped her put her technique together when it really counted. In the end, it was a stunning victory".

At the DTB Pokal World Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, in November 2010, Mitchell won gold on the floor (14.275), beam (15.325), and uneven bars (14.150). In doing so, she became the first Australian gymnast to win three gold medals at a single World Cup event. Commenting on Mitchell's achievement, Australian women’s head coach, Peggy Liddick, stated: "When she won floor tonight, I thought that’s fantastic she’s backed up her world championships performance. That almost means as much as the world championships because it just proves that she’s not a one hit wonder, that she’s a consistent performer and she can go in three weeks later and back herself up. Her beam score of 15.375, which is a normal beam routine for her, would have been enough for a gold medal at the world championships. We were both so disappointed with the scoring at worlds, we thought Lauren did a great job but she just didn’t get that score. So that just proves she is also a medal contender on beam. And the bars are not her best event and there was no pressure on her because we weren’t expecting her to medal. She’s had a bit of a sore shoulder and hasn’t done much training on bars, and we were even thinking about pulling her out to give that shoulder a rest. But she opted to stay in and she did the best bars routine she’s done all year. Last night was a success, not only because she won the medals, but it was a statement that she’s a true professional, that she loves her gymnastics and when she goes out she can back herself up. Keep that history book open, just love the achievements that we’re making at the moment."

Mitchell next competed at the Glasgow grand prix world cup event in late November 2010 where she won 2 further gold medals on beam (14.675) and in the floor exercise (14.800). She also won bronze on the uneven bars (13.725). Mitchell said of all her achievements that: "It's been an amazing few months, not only for me but for the whole Australian Team. The Commonwealth Games was a great chance for us all to compete in a big event and get experience ahead of the World Championships, which were the big aim for the whole Team. To qualify for the next step of the Olympic Qualifications was key so we were really happy with that and then of course for me to win the Floor title was just the icing on the cake - the day just went perfectly for me and I was amazed to get the title! From there I've been really hectic traveling to lots of events, which have given me great experience. Here in Glasgow, I've been really happy with my performance and the two titles as the equipment wasn't what I was used too so it shows that I can adapt and work in a range of environments which is important and shows I'm developing. Traveling to all these events is great but what really keeps me going is knowing that I have some amazing support from back home in Australia, it makes me job much easier knowing people are supporting me."

In December 2010, Mitchell competed at the Toyota Cup in Japan where she won gold on the beam.

2011

On 5 March 2011, Mitchell competed in the AT&T; American Cup at Jacksonville, Florida where she finished sixth in the all-around competition. She then competed at the Bercy World Cup (French International) from the 19–20 March 2011 where she finished fourth on the beam.

In an interview with Alexa Ainsworth from Universal Sports, Mitchell said of her preparations for the 2012 Olympics that Australian head coach, Peggy Liddick "doesn't like us making too many changes the year of the Olympics, so most of the changes will be this year and if it's not stable than we won't do it. If we're going to put in upgrades it will be this year".

At the Japan Cup in Tokyo in early July 2011, Mitchell came fourth in the all-around with a combined score of 53.750, debuting her new floor routine in the process. She also finished fourth with the Australian team in the team competition.

Later in July 2011, Mitchell won gold on the all-around, the vault, the beam, and in the floor exercise at the Australian National Championships.

References

External links

Lauren Mitchell photos at Zimbio

Category:1991 births Category:Living people Category:Australian female artistic gymnasts Category:People from Perth, Western Australia Category:Sportspeople from Western Australia Category:Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic gymnasts of Australia Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Category:Gymnasts at the 2010 Commonwealth Games‎ Category:Medalists at World Gymnastics Championships

fr:Lauren Mitchell nl:Lauren Mitchell pl:Lauren Mitchell pt:Lauren Mitchell