Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 9
Nominations and
Campaigns
The Candidate Centered Campaign (a
recent phenomenon)
“The Killer Question”
What was the “killer question”?
Key Terms to know:
Campaign strategy
 Caucus
 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
 Federal Election Commission (FEC)
 Frontloading
 McGovern-Fraser Commission
 National Party convention
 Nomination
 Party platform
 Political Action Committee (PAC)
 Presidential Primaries
 Soft money
 Superdelegates
 527 Groups

Introduction
Campaigns then and now


Parties less important, media is more important,
polling and money matter now more than ever.
2 Distinct Phases:
1.
2.
Nomination
General Election
Opinions on Campaigns
"The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high
office like breakfast cereal is the ultimate indignity to
the democratic process."
-Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, 1956
"Television is no gimmick, and nobody will ever be
elected to major office again without presenting
themselves well on it."
-Television producer and Nixon campaign consultant
Roger Ailes, 1968
The Nomination Game

Nomination



Generally, success requires momentum, money, and media attention.
Goal is to win a majority of delegates’ support at the national party
convention, or the supreme power within each of the parties.
Campaign Strategy



The master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral
campaign.
Good strategies involve extensive polling to discover not only existing
attitudes but how to change them.
Involves extensive spending on television and time on fund-raising
How to win a caucus/primary
To win a primary, you must mobilize party activists
who will give money, do volunteer work, and attend
local caucuses.
 To get activist support, candidates must move away
from the center but during the general election,
candidates move towards the center again.
 Democrats tend to choose those who are not frontrunners while Republicans do the opposite.

Primaries/Caucuses an overview of the
vote count
THE NATIONAL PARTY GIVES A CERTAIN
NUMBER OF DELEGATE VOTES TO EACH
STATE (similar to electors being allowed to represent
each state)
 THE STATE COUNTS THE VOTE AND SENDS
DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL
CONVENTION BY ONE OF TWO FORMULAS:



WINNER TAKE ALL…plurality (Republicans)
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (Democrats)
Impact of Primary/Caucus System

The use of direct primaries instead of the
convention system to select presidential candidates
has resulted in:
1.
a weakening of party control over nominations and an increase in
the number of people involved in the choice of candidates.
Disproportionate attention to early states.
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 affluent are more likely to vote in a presidential primary**
The system gives too much power to the media.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The Nomination Game
The Nomination Game

The Convention



National conventions once provided great “drama”, but now
are a formality, which means less TV time.
Significant rallying point for parties
Party platform: statement of a party’s goals and policies for
next four years
The Nomination Game
1968 Democratic Convention –
Chicago – A Turning Point
•
•
•
George McGovern initiated changes to the rules to
prevent another convention disaster
Quota for female and minority delegates was established
Proportional representation was mandated and a
requirement to vote by state rule
McGovern Reforms - Democrats
con’t
 Due
to the great debate within Democratic
party about changes
 Compromise
was made SUPERDELEGATES
And sometimes not !
 During
the 2008 Democratic Primaries, Florida
and Michigan were stripped of their delegates
by the national party!
Impact

Reforms to the presidential nomination process
have resulted in the number of female delegates
and minority-group delegates at Democratic
national conventions growing substantially.
In 2008 the Superdelegate vote made a
difference for the Democrats!
Famous Campaign Ads
1964- “The Daisy Girl Ad”
1988- Bush- “Willie Horton Ad”, “Tank Ride”,
“Dukakis Response”
2004- “Swiftboat Ads”, “Windsurfing”
2008- “Fundamentals”, “Rearview Mirror”
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
http://instapunk.com/images/kerry_dukakis_photoops.jpg
The Campaign Game
Money and Campaigning

Campaign finance reforms have
attempted to minimize the role of money
in influencing the outcome of an
election, as was often the case in the past.
Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)
1.
2.
Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to
administer campaign finance laws for federal elections
Provided partial public financing for presidential primaries
1. Matching funds: Contributions of up to $250 are matched for
candidates who meet conditions, such as limiting spending. Also,
candidates must raise at least $5000 in each state to get on a ballot.
3.
Provided full public financing for major party candidates in
the general election
1. $74.4 million for each candidate.
4.
Requires full disclosure and limited contributions
Money and Campaigning

The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) banned soft money,
increased amount of individual contributions, and restricted
“independent expenditures”



Individual limit is $2000 as of 2004.
PAC’s can give up to $5000.
527s: independent groups that seek to influence political
process but are not subject to contribution restricts because they
do not directly seek election of particular candidates
Impact of McCain-Feingold (2002)
Numerous lawsuits claiming unconstitutional.
2. Shifts power away from corporations and unions and
towards the media.
3. The proliferation of PAC’s
1.

PACs contributed over $372.1 million to congressional
candidates in 2006.
Campaigns are more open and honest.
5. Rich are restricted and small donors are encouraged.
6. 527’s are the “loophole” of choice.
4.
Landmark Campaign Finance Cases

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)- Held that a law limiting
contributions to a political campaign's constitutional
but restricting a candidate's expenditures of his/her
own money was not.

McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2002)upheld McCain-Feingold (2002) which prohibited
corporations and labor unions from running ads
that mention candidates and their positions 60 days
before a general election.
More recently…

Citizens United vs. Federal Election
Commission

After reading the article, answer the following
questions:
1.
2.
3.
What was the Supreme Court’s ruling?
What was significant about this decision?
What arguments do supporters/opponents of this
ruling say?
“In he wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling that it’s
OK for corporations to contribute to political
candidates, I suggest that we require all politicians to
wear NASCAR suits-at least we can tell who their
sponsors are”
-Pat Douglas, Chesterfield, VAStephen Colbert’s “Nacho Cheese Campaign”
Money and Campaigning

The increased cost of election campaigns has
contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in
government because:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Candidates must spend more time raising money
Interest Groups and PAC’s are seen to have too much
influence
Corporations and connections to wealthy donors
Keeps good people from running for office
Small contributions seemingly don’t matter
Perception that there is wasteful spending.
Possible FRQ from Lesson
The United States Congress has debated a variety of campaign finance reforms
over the last decade. The proposals debated have included the following:
Eliminating soft money
Limiting independent expenditures
Raising limits on individual contributions
a) Select on of the listed proposals and do all of the following:



Define the proposal.
Describe an argument that proponents make in favor of the proposal.
Describe an argument that opponents make against the proposal.
b) Select a different listed proposal and do all of the following:



Define the proposal
Describe an argument that proponents make in favor of the proposal
Describe an argument that opponents make against the proposal.
Assignment
 With
a partner, discuss possible answers to the
FRQ on Campaign Finance. Be ready to
discuss with the class
Recent
Proposals
1. Eliminating soft money
Arguments in favor include:
Arguments against include:
•Levels the playing field.
•Lessens concern about the undue
influence of “buying of influence.”
•Provides more disclosure and
transparency.
•Decreases overall costs of
campaigns
•First Amendment
•Contrary to ruling in Buckley v. Valeo
•Weakens political parties.
•Might lessen grassroots participation.
Recent
Proposals
Limiting Independent expenditures
 Definition: Limiting money spent by
individuals and groups not directly affiliated
with the candidate or the party
2.
Arguments in favor include:
Arguments against include:
•Levels the playing field.
•Possibly reduces negative issue ads.
•Candidates want to control their own
campaigns.
•Lessens concern about undue
influence of buying of influence.
•First Amendment
•Contrary to ruling in Buckley v.
Valeo.
•Might lessen grassroots
participation.
Recent
Proposals
3.

Raising limits on individual contributions
Definition: Increasing the dollar amount individuals
may give to a campaign, parties, or PAC’s
Arguments in favor include:
Arguments against include:
•Limits are not indexed to
inflation.
•Candidates can spend less time
fundraising
•Decreased the influence of
PAC’s
•Decreased restrictions on First
Amendment rights.
•Allows the rich to have/buy more
influence
•Too much money in the process
already.
•Drives up the cost of campaigns.