Editing Accountability (section)

=== Public opinion polls ===
Approval ratings generated through public opinion polling create a measure of job performance during an incumbent's term that has implications for whether the official will retain their seat, or if reelection will even be sought.<ref name=":9">{{cite journal|last=Highton|first=Benjamin|date=May 2008|title=Job Approval and Senate Election Outcomes in the United States|journal=Legislative Studies Quarterly|volume=33|issue=2|pages=245–261|doi=10.3162/036298008784311019|issn=0362-9805}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Adam R.|last2=Jacobson|first2=Gary C.|s2cid=154373150|date=December 2008|title=Party, Performance, and Strategic Politicians: The Dynamics of Elections for Senator and Governor in 2006|journal=State Politics & Policy Quarterly|volume=8|issue=4|pages=384–409|doi=10.1177/153244000800800403|issn=1532-4400}}</ref> These approval ratings predict election outcomes when combined with other factors included in [[Bayesian network|Bayesian]] Model Averaging forecasts.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Erikson|first1=Robert S.|last2=Bafumi|first2=Joseph|last3=Wilson|first3=Bret|date=October 2001|title=Was the 2000 Presidential Election Predictable?|journal=Political Science & Politics|language=en|volume=34|issue=4|pages=815–819|doi=10.1017/S1049096501000750|s2cid=153487954|issn=1049-0965}}</ref> In the United States, senator job approval ratings affect whether a senator will retire, the quality of candidates that seek to challenge them, the amount of money the senator can raise to seek reelection if they decide to run, and the outcome of the election itself.<ref name=":9" /> Strategic incumbent senators will seek reelection less when their approval ratings are low during their time in office.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" />