Nominations,%20Campaigns,%20

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Nominations, Campaigns, Elections
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Elections

• Elections are the process through which power in
  government changes hands.
• Elections bestow legitimacy on the process and on
  the incoming officials.

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Understanding Nominations Campaigns

• Throughout the history of American politics,
  election campaigns have become longer and longer
  as the system has become increasingly open to
  public participation.

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Types of Elections

• Primary elections
• Run-offs
• General elections
• Special elections
• Referendums
• Initiative petitions

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General Election

• Regularly scheduled elections at which voters
  make the final selection of officeholders

General Election
Primaries
Nomination
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The Nomination Game

• Two types of campaigns in American politics
• For a partys nomination
• Between the two nominees

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Nomination

• A partys official endorsement of a candidate for
  office.
• Campaign Strategy the master game plan
  candidates lay out to guide their electoral
  campaign

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Nomination
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The Nomination Game

• Success generally requires money, media
  attention, and momentum

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The Nomination Game

• Many qualified candidates decide not to run b/c
  of the stress involved
• Campaigns are much longer in the U.S. than in
  most other countries many other nations limit
  their campaigns by law to no more than 2 months
  those in the U.S. often last 18 months or longer.

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Competing for Delegates

• Goal is to win a majority of delegates support
  at the national party convention.
• Delegates are chosen through either primaries or
  caucuses from January through June of election
  year.

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Primaries and Caucuses

• During this time, candidates compete in primaries
  (elections within states) and caucuses (private
  party meetings) against candidates WITHIN THEIR
  OWN POLITICAL PARTY throughout the US. New
  Hampshire has the first primary and Iowa has the
  first caucus. Fundraising and self-promotion
  continue.

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Party Caucuses

• A meeting of all state party leaders and members
  for selecting delegates to the national party
  convention (usually organized as a pyramid).
• Start a local/neighborhood level, move to county,
  then state, then national

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Party Caucuses

• Caucuses are usually organized like a pyramid.

National Convention
State caucuses
Congressional district caucuses
County caucuses
Small, neighborhood precinct-level caucuses held
initially
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Presidential Primaries

• Elections in which voters in a state vote for a
  candidate (or delegates pledged to him or her).
• Most delegates to the national party convention
  are chosen this way.
• In most states, state law requires that the major
  parties use the primary to choose their
  candidates to elect people to most local offices.

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The Direct Primary

• Election held within a party to pick that partys
  candidate for the general election.
• Closed Primary only declared party members can
  vote (party membership typically established by
  registration)
• Open Primary any qualified voter can cast a
  ballot (public vs. private choice)

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Presidential Primaries

• A delegate selection process and/or a candidate
  preference election.
• Held in 40 states in 2008.
• Name recognition and
• Front-loaded
• Guided by State law and party rules
• Winner-take-all vs. Proportional

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Front-loading

• The recent tendency of states to hold primaries
  early in the calendar in order to capitalize on
  media attention. 70 of all delegates to both
  party conventions are now chosen before the end
  of February.
• Iowa holds the nations first nominating caucus ?
  major implications.
• The first primary is held in New Hampshire.

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Super Tuesday

• Refers to the Tuesday in February or March of an
  election year in which the greatest number of
  states hold their primary elections.
• March 6th for the 2012 Election (10 states,
  including GA)

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Evaluating the Primary and Caucus System

• Criticisms include
• Disproportionate attention goes to the early
  events
• Prominent politicians find it difficult to take
  time out from their duties to run
• Money plays too big a role
• Participation is low and unrepresentative
• Gives too much power to the media

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The National Convention

• Usually, in late summer, Democrats and
  Republicans hold their national party conventions
  where presidential and vice presidential
  candidates are officially nominated, various
  factions and leading personalities in the party
  are brought together, and the partys platform
  (views on the issues) is adopted. Fundraising
  and self-promotion continue.

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The Convention Send-off

• Conventions have changed dramatically over the
  years
• Now, mainly just a media event to energize the
  party pretty much just a rubber-stamp on
  primary/caucus results

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1968 Democratic National Convention

• Chaos and conflict led party to reform its
  delegate selection procedures.
• McGovern-Fraser Commission
• Tried to make convention more representative
• No longer would party leaders have all the
  control
• Led to primaries in most states
• Also, led to the same consequences in the
  Republican party b/c state law typically sets
  primary rules

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Superdelegates

• National party leaders who automatically get a
  delegate slot at the Democratic national party
  convention (unpledged delegates - arent bound to
  vote a certain way)
• The Democratic Party makes greater use of these
  than the Republicans b/c they do not bind
  delegates to select the candidate the party
  members choose during the primary

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Awarding Delegates

• Republicans typically use a winner-take all
  system to award their delegates to candidates
  (either statewide, or by district), but use some
  proportional distribution
• Democrats have moved to proportional
  representation, and divide their delegates up b/w
  candidates who receive at least 15 of a states
  vote

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Media Events

• The outcome of conventions today is usually
  predetermined by previous primary results, so
  they are mainly just media events used to
  energize each party.

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Party Platform

• A political partys statement of its goals and
  policies for the next four years.
• Presented at the National Convention.

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Vice Presidential Nominee

• Chosen at the convention usually based on the
  presidential nominees preference for a running
  mate

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General Campaign

• The General Campaign goes from late summer
  through early November. Candidates continue to
  fundraise and self-promote, traveling all over
  the U.S. to campaign (especially swing states),
  doing many TV commercials, and possibly
  participating in debates with the other
  candidates.

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National Campaign

• To win votes of different groups throughout the
  country
• Television advertising, televised public
  appearances, direct mail campaigns, and an
  official web site

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Media Coverage

• Candidates daily activities, campaign strategies,
  and poll results.
• Advertisements very important where voters
  learn the bulk of their info.
• Critics fear that campaigns have become too
  centered on candidates images rather than their
  political beliefs/qualifications

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Money and Campaigning

• Candidates rely on TV to communicate directly
  with the electorate, and airtime often translates
  into votes.
• TV is a necessity, but very expensive
• Leads to more time fundraising than focusing on
  the issues

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Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - 1974

• Congress passed law attempting to control
  campaign costs and donations
• Established the Federal Election Commission to
  enforce campaign laws, and initiated public
  financing for presidential primaries and general
  elections.
• Forced candidates to report all campaign
  contributions (disclosure) and how they spend
  money also attempted to limit contributions

Note Congress does not have the power to
regulate the use of in State and
local elections.
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McCain-Feingold Reform Act

• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002) banned
  soft money, which acted as a loophole to FECA
• Soft money political contributions earmarked
  for party-building expenses at the grass roots
  level or for generic party advertising.

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Individual Limits on Contributions

• No person can give more than 2100 to any federal
  candidate in a primary election, and no more than
  2100 in a general election
• No person can give more than 5000 in any year to
  a PAC

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Political Action Committees

• Established in 1974 by the FECA
• Funding vehicles the political arms of
  special-interest and other organizations with a
  stake in electoral politics
• Corporations, unions, and other interest groups

• Try to influence policy through campaign
  contributions interest groups must channel
  donations through PACs
• Must register with the FEC, so they can monitor
  donations All expenditures must be meticulously
  reported to the FEC

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Buckley v. Valeo
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Political Action Committees

• As of 2004, there were 3,868 PACs
• No limit to what they can spend b/c they can act
  independently of candidate, but can only donate
  5000 to a particular candidate

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FEC Data 2008 Presidential Election

• http//www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do