GOVT 312: Parties and Campaigns

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GOVT 312 Parties and Campaigns

• Lecture 13 Nominating Procedures

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Nominating Candidates

• Candidates elected from districts or states
• Presidential candidates
• Most states use primaries of some form to select
  presidential delegates and party nominees to
  congressional, state, and local offices (where
  partisan). Some, like Iowa and Virginia, still
  use caucuses.

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Direct Primaries

• Nomination of candidates through a popular
  election
• Replaced party caucuses meetings of party
  leaders held to select candidates
• Progressive Era reform intended to diminish power
  of party leaders
• First primary 1902 Wisconsin LaFollette
• 38 states use primaries extensively
• Virginia may choose to hold a nominating
  convention

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Types of Primaries

• Closed primary record of voters party
• Closed primary (12 states) only voters
  registered with a party can vote in that partys
  primary
• Semi-closed primary (45 states) voters may
  choose to change their registration on Election
  Day.
• Open primary no record of voters party
• Semi-open primary (11 states) voters may choose
  party primary to vote in, no permanent record of
  registration
• Fully open (10 states) voters receive a
  consolidated ballot, but may only vote in one
  partys primary
• Blanket Primary (3 states) voters may vote for
  any primary, regardless of party

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What About Virginia?

• Parties and incumbents have the choice of
  selecting a convention, caucus or primary.
• Virginia has a fully open primary or does it?

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Primary Voting Strategies

• Cross-over votes partisans vote in other partys
  primary, sincere intention to vote for a
  candidate. Occured in situations like McKinney
  (D-GA).
• Raiding partisans vote in other partys primary,
  intention to elect a candidate that cannot win
  the general election. Tucker Carlson (Crossfire)
  in Virginia.

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Candidate Filing

• Some states allow nearly anyone to run for
  office, while others have tough requirements,
  such as obtaining a list of names on a petition.

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Run-off elections

• Some states, particularly Southern states such as
  LA, have majority requirements. If no candidate
  wins a majority, a run-off is held among the top
  two-candidates.
• Akin to the old white primary in the south.
  Like the white primary, allows white voters to
  coalesce behind a white candidate.

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Special Elections

• No primary
• All candidates run at the same time
• Highest vote wins (though sometimes there can be
  a run-off among the top two)
• Can split the support for candidates, parties try
  to discourage many candidates from their party
  from running at the same time.

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Parties and Primaries

• Since parties dont control nominations, fringe
  candidates can be selected in primaries
• Parties cant punish candidates by withholding
  nominations for who dont toe the party line

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Problems with Primaries

• Increases the cost of campaigns
• Increases length of campaigns
• Drives candidates from seeking office
• Divisive primary can damage candidates
• An unpopular candidate may win the party
  nomination
• Candidates for all statewide offices may be from
  a dominant region whereas a strategic party may
  want regional balance on their ticket

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What parties can do

• Endorse candidates, formally in a few states,
  informally in others
• Lean on candidates by supporting their opponents
• Provide campaign support

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Primary Election Facts

• Turnout is low (about half) of general elections
• Often there is no election, only one candidate
• Often there is little information for voters to
  make choices
• Incumbents tend to win
• Elections in the South
• Used to be determined in the primary
• Now decided in general election

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Primary voters

• Tend to be more highly educated (SES) than
  general election voters
• Tend to be more ideological, and more highly
  partisan
• Tend to elect more partisan candidates