What is a Lame Duck Politician?
A lame duck politician is someone in office who is neither beholden to the constituency that elected him or her nor able to garner any political support. This is because the lame duck politician is simply in office until the election winner takes over. The incumbent may have lost the election, or he or she may be unable to run for re-election due to ineligibility or personal choice. There are often many lame duck politicians in the United States, because politician-elects are not inaugurated until some time after the election results have been declared. The president-elect, for example, does not enter office until 20 January, despite the fact that elections are conducted in November.
