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Election Campaigns

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Election Campaigns Phases of Political Campaigns Potential candidates begin testing the water 1 - 2 years before the election. Primary campaigns begin about ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Election Campaigns


1
Election Campaigns
Vote
Conventions
2
Phases of Political Campaigns
  • Potential candidates begin testing the water 1½
    - 2 years before the election.
  • Primary campaigns begin about 1½ years before the
    election.
  • Primaries in most states - December-April
    (a few in May and June)
  • Party caucuses in spring
  • State party conventions early summer
  • National party conventions summer
  • Main campaign August November
  • Election in November

3
What is the objective?
  • To win enough votes in the
  • Electoral College to assure victory
  • for their partys candidate.
  • 538 voters in the Electoral College
  • Must have 270 votes to win Presidency.

4
Balancing Priorities
  • In the primaries small states critical
  • Because of early primaries
  • Dont want to be labeled a loser
  • In main election big states critical
  • Because of Electoral College system
  • Big populations

New Hampshire
Texas
5
Campaign Strategy
  • Aggressive attack?
  • Low-key approach?
  • Slogans?
  • Themes?
  • Issues to emphasize?
  • on TV? Radio? Newspapers?

versus
?
6
Campaign Organization
  • Strong organization essential
  • Campaign manager
  • Political advisors
  • Specialists
  • State party officials
  • Local party officials
  • Field workers (volunteers)

7
TV and the Candidates Image
  • Desire to appear presidential
  • People believe what they see
  • Packaging
  • News coverage (often staged)
  • TV news most common source of news
  • Political commercials
  • Televised debates

8
Financing Campaigns
  • Very expensive
  • In 2000, Bush and Gore spent 629 million in
    about 14 weeks of main campaign.

9
Financing Campaigns
  • For the 2012 campaign, there
  • is talk that Obama will
  • probably raise over 1 billion.
  • Soooo . . . Campaigns are getting more
  • expensive each election cycle.

10
Campaign Finance Rules
  • Until 1970s campaign money came entirely from
    contributions
  • Suspicions about what candidate promised in order
    to get contributions
  • Wealthy had too much power
  • No limits on how much could be contributed.

11
Reform of Campaign Laws
  • Principals of reform
  • Public funding of campaigns
  • Place limits on spending
  • Public disclosure
  • Only individuals (people, not corporations) could
    donate max 1000
  • No donations from corporations, unions, etc.

12
Growth of PACs
Political Action Committees
  • Individual (including corporations) can give PAC
    max of 5000
  • PAC can give candidate max 5000
  • PAC can contribute to many candidates

13
Soft Money
  • Money for general purposes not designated for a
    specific candidate
  • Includes non-money donations
  • Disclosure issues

14
Recent Reform Efforts
  • Prohibit soft money donations
  • Ceilings on spending
  • Full disclosure
  • Stakes are high
  • Who will control government?

However
15
Money and Ethics
16
ASSIGNMENT
Work with your partner
  • Your ideal candidate has
  • agreed to run for President. Based
  • upon what you learned today
  • 1) Create a timeline for his/her campaign in
    2012.
  • 2) What 3 issues will be most important to your
    ideal candidate and what position will he/she
    take on those 3 issues?

Issue 1 ___?____ Position ________ ________?____
___
Issue 2 ___?____ Position ________ ________?____
___
Issue 3 ___?____ Position ________ ________?____
___
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