Campaigns and Elections
The nominating process
Campaign organization
Problems with campaign finance
Organization and implementation of elections
The nomination
► The
1st step: choosing of candidates within each
party
► Narrows the field of possible candidates
► Self Nomination= was the main way until the
1800’s (still used in small towns)
► Candidate must file a petition to be on the ballot
(number of signatures varies per state)
► If not enough signatures to get on ballot, can be a
“write-in candidate”
 Rarely successful
Party Caucus
► Constitution
doesn’t give instructions for
nominating candidates for Pres./V.P..
► 1797, party leaders (wealthy, influential)
decided to keep power by holding caucuses
 Early meetings where party leaders chose
candidates in secret (voters had no part)
► By
1820, caucuses were controversial, “King
Caucus”…they faded away.
Party Nominating Convention
► Replaced
caucuses
► Official meeting of a political party
candidates and delegates are chosen.
 Both systems have been abused
 Most states don’t use conventions
 National convention still used
The Direct Primary
► Replaced
convention system in most states.
► An election held within each party to pick
candidates for the general election.
► States usually set the dates and conduct.
► Different kinds of primaries




Closed primary
Open primary
Run-Off Primaries
Nonpartisan elections
Nominating Presidential Candidates
► Begins
with state primaries, caucuses and
conventions, which are followed by the national
party conventions.
 State parties, caucuses or conventions
 National party conventions
► Adopt
the official party platform
► Decide who will be the party’s v.p. and pres. Candidates
► 2-3000 delegates
► Not as important in the nominating process as they once were.
The Campaign
Campaign- originally a military word
► To
win = organized, well planned, $
 *see diagram on pg. 299
► Campaign
Strategy
 Aggressive vs. low key, issues?, theme/slogan?
$ for t.v. etc…
►Traditional
Techniques
 Door to door
►Mass
media and computerized techniques
►Opinion polls (tracking polls)
3 ways campaigns make a difference
► Reawaken
partisan loyalties of voters
 Right after a nomination, that persons
popularity with both parties goes up. Media
attention during the summer months when not
much else is going on.
► See
how candidates handle pressure
 Negative ads work by stimulating voter turnout
► Allow
the voter to judge the core
values/character of the candidate.
Campaign costs
► Campaign
finance laws
Campaign-Financing Laws
► 1971-
FECA Federal Election Campaign Act
 No limits on overall spending
 Restricted amount to be spent on mass media
 Limited amount that candidates and their families
could contribute to their own campaigns
 Required candidates to disclose all expenditures
and contributions over $100
 $1 checkoff on federal income tax returns (has
since been raised to $3)
Amendments to the Act: 1974
Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for
enforcement.
► Public financing for presidential primaries and general
elections.
► Limits on pres. Campaign spending: if you agree to fed.
Support, you must agree to limit expenditures.
► Required disclosure.
► Limited contributions: citizens can give up to
$1000/candidate in each fed election or primary. Total
limit for any individual in one year is $25,000. Groups can
contribute a max of $5,000 to a candidate in any election.
► 1976 Case: Buckley v. Valeo- court ruled unconstitutional
the part that limits amount candidate can spend on his/her
own campaign
►
Barack Obama
► Barack
Obama became the first presidential
nominee to opt out of the public funding
system set up after the Watergate scandal.
► To date, he has raised nearly $650 million
(Nov. 4th 2008)
► By contrast, John McCain, who opted for
public funds has raised about 360 million
dollars overall.