Chapter 9

►
The Presidential Campaign
Calendar
The year (OR TWO) before the election –
Announce intent to run
►
January-June of Election Year – Caucuses and Primaries
►
End of Summer – National Party
Conventions
►
Fall – Debates between Candidates
►
November – Election
►
January 20 th - Inauguration

The Nomination Game
►
Nomination: the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
►
Generally, success requires momentum, money, and media attention.
►
Campaign Strategy: the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign

The Nomination Game
►
Deciding to Run
 Campaigns are more physically and emotionally taxing than ever.
 Other countries have short campaigns, generally less than 2 months.
 American campaigns are much longer.
►
Whoever is elected president declares their intention to run early in the year BEFORE the election.

Delegates? HUH?
►
When you participate in a caucus or primary, you are choosing DELEGATES who will attend the convention in support of the candidate you like best. A vote for Candidate X is REALLY a vote for a delegate to attend the convention to SUPPORT
Candidate X
►
The more delegates supporting Candidate X at the convention, the more likely he/she is to get the nomination
►
Primaries vs Caucuses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_95I_1rZiIs

►
The Nomination Game
Competing for Delegates
 The Caucus Road
►
Caucus: system for selecting delegates used in about a dozen rural states. Voters show up at a set time and attend an open meeting to show their preference for President.
►
Caucusing is EASY! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=racTAiemEQU
►
A handful of states use a caucus—open to all voters who are registered with a party. Takes more time on the part of the people. Lower turnout than for states with primaries.
►
The Iowa caucus is first and most important.

►
The Nomination Game
Competing for Delegates
 The Primary Road
►
Primary: elections in which voters in a state vote for a nominee (or delegates pledged to the nominee)
 Began at turn of 20 th century by progressive reformers
 Most delegates are chosen through primaries.
 Superdelegates: party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the
►
National Convention
Frontloading is the tendency of states to hold primaries early to capitalize on media attention.
New Hampshire is first.
►
Generally primaries serve as elimination contests.

McGovern-Fraser Commission
►
Formed as a reaction to the violence at the
Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968 (anti-war party members felt they weren’t represented within the convention)
►
Wanted to be sure that the delegates to the
DNC were really representative of the
Democratic Party itself (women, minorities, etc.)

The Nomination Game
►
Competing for Delegates
 Evaluating the Primary and Caucus System
►
Disproportionate attention to early primaries and caucuses
►
Prominent politicians do not run.
►
Money plays too big a role.
►
Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and unrepresentative; 20 percent vote in primaries
►
The system gives too much power to the media.

The Nomination Game
►
Competing for Delegates
 Nomination game is an elimination contest
 Goal is to win a majority of delegates’ support at the national party convention, or the supreme power within each of the parties
►
The convention meets every four years to nominate the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
►
Party platform is written.
►
Conventions are but a formality today (they’re really a big party!!).

The Nomination Game
►
The Convention Send-off
 National conventions once provided great drama, but now are a formality, which means less TV time.
 Significant rallying point for parties
 Key note speaker on first day of Convention
 Party platform: statement of a party’s goals and policies for next four years
►
Debated on the second day of the Convention
 Formal nomination of president and vice-president candidates on third and fourth days

The Nomination Game

The Campaign Game
►
The High-Tech Media Campaign
 Direct mail is used to generate support and money for the candidate
 Get media attention through ad budget and
“free” coverage
 Emphasis on “marketing” a candidate
 News stories focus more on the “horse race” than substantive policy issues

The Campaign Game
►
Organizing the Campaign
 Get a campaign manager
 Get a fund-raiser & campaign counsel
(attorney)
 Hire media and campaign consultants
 Assemble staff and plan logistics
 Get research staff, policy advisors, and pollsters
 Get a good press secretary
 Establish a website

The Campaign Game

►
Money and Campaigning
The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms
 Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)
►
Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer campaign finance laws for elections federal
►
Created the Presidential Election Campaign
Fund ($3 voluntary donation on income tax forms)
►
Provided partial public financing for presidential primaries
 Matching funds: Candidates who raise
$5000 in at least 20 states can get donations of up to $250 matched by the federal treasury. If candidates accept this money they agree to limit what they spend on their campaigns.

Money and Campaigning
 Federal Election Campaign Act (1974) continued
►
Provided full public financing for major party candidates in the general election. In 2008, this fixed amount was $85 million. Obama did not accept it and raised money in maximum amounts of $2300 per individual donor. He raised $337 million which gave him a huge edge over McCain who accepted the $85 million.
►
Required full disclosure of all campaign donations to
► the FEC listing who contributed and how much
Limited contributions per individual to $1000. The limit was raised to $2300 in 2008.

Money and Campaigning
►
The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms
 Soft Money: political contributions (not subject to contribution limits) earmarked for party-building expenses or generic party advertising
 The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) banned soft money, increased amount of individual contributions, and limited “issue ads.”
►
This was overturned by the Supreme Court case
Citizens United v. FEC (2010) which says that this was a limit on free speech. Corporations and unions can now spend as much as they like to promote their political views.

Money and Campaigning
►
►
527 groups: Just known as 527s. Independent groups that seek to influence political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek election of particular candidates.
Created as a way for groups to get around the ban on soft money. Examples: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (anti-
Kerry 527) and Moveon.org (anti-Bush 527)
►
Swift Boat Veterans Ad

Money and Campaigning
►
The Proliferation of PACs
 Political Action Committees (PACs): created by law in
1974 to allow corporations, labor unions and other interest groups to donate money to campaigns; PACs are registered with and monitored by the FEC.
 As of 2008 there were 4,611 PACs.
 PACs contributed over $412.8 million to congressional candidates in 2008
 PACs donate to candidates who support their issue.
 PACs do not “buy” candidates, but give to candidates who support them in the first place.
 All PAC donations must be carefully recorded by candidates

Money and Campaigning

Money and Campaigning
►
Are Campaigns Too Expensive?
 Fundraising takes a lot of time.
 Incumbents do worse when they spend more money because it means they need to spend more to defeat quality challengers.
 The doctrine of sufficiency suggests that candidates need just “enough” money to win, not necessarily “more.” (Meg Whitman lost to
Jerry Brown although she outspent him by $100 million)

The Impact of Campaigns
►
Campaigns have three effects on voters:
 Reinforcement, Activation, Conversion
►
Several factors weaken campaigns’ impact on voters:
 Selective perception: pay most attention to things we agree with
 Party identification still influences voting behavior
 Incumbents begin with sizeable advantage

Understanding Nominations and
Campaigns
►
►
Are Nominations and Campaigns Too
Democratic?
 Campaigns are open to almost everyone.
 Campaigns consume much time and money.
 Campaigns promote individualism in American politics.
Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased
Scope of Government?
 Candidates make numerous promises, especially to state and local interests.
 Hard for politicians to promise to cut size of government

Summary
►
Campaigns are media-oriented and expensive.
►
Delegates are selected through caucuses and primaries.
►
Money and contributions from PACs regulated by the FEC are essential to campaigns.
►
Campaigns reinforce perceptions but do not change minds.