NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of congressional candidates across the country are gearing up to run against incumbents in races they have little chance of winning.
They're more than underdogs — they're sacrificial lambs.
Among them are a Democratic hot dog vendor from Texas, and a piano tuner from the Bronx who's trying to unseat a Democratic congressman who's taken 90-plus percent of the vote for years.
The Center for Responsive Politics says that more than eight in 10 incumbents have been re-elected every cycle since 1964.
But both parties want a candidate on the ballot whenever possible.
An unforeseen circumstance — a scandal or an indictment, for example — could turn that sacrificial lamb into a surprise winner.
