Name:
Hour:
AP American Government
The Gubernatorial/Presidential Election MiniUnit
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QW: What does it mean to be an “executive”? How is being Governor
different from being the president?
Candidate Introductions
1. Who are the MI Governor candidates? What do the polls say?
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2014-michigan-governor-snyder-vs-schauer
2. Who are the US 2016 presidential election “potential” candidates?
Take notes on each candidate below.
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/CampaignsElections/tp/2016-Presidential-Candidates.htm
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HW: Directions: Read each biography below. As you read, highlight important points. After each
candidate’s biography, answer the questions.
Mark Schauer Bio (taken from three separate sources):
POLITICAL CAREER
Elected to the Senate in 2002, Schauer served as Democratic Floor Leader from
2003 to 2006. At the onset of the 94th Legislature, he was elected by his
Democratic colleagues to be Senate Minority Leader. After being elected to the House in 1996, Schauer served as
Assistant Democratic Leader for that body from 1999 to 2000. Schauer was also a City Commissioner for Battle
Creek from 1995 to 1997.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Schauer was Coordinator for the Calhoun County Human Services Coordinating Council from 1992 to 1996,
Executive Director for the Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan from 1987 to 1992, and Urban
Planner for Calhoun County from 1984 to 1987.
EDUCATION
Schauer received his B.A. from Albion College in 1984, his M.P.A. from Western Michigan University in 1987, and
his M.A. from Michigan State University in 1996. He is currently as Ph.D candidate at University of Michigan.
PERSONAL
Schauer was born October 2, 1961. He is married with three stepchildren. He is Protestant.
CIVIC ACTIVITIES
Schauer is a member of the Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce, the Urban Affairs Association, the Midwest
Political Science Association, the Food Bank of South Central Michigan, the board of the ACCORD Council of
Churches, the board of the SNAP Preschool Program, the NAACP, the United Way of Greater Battle Creek, and the
Neighborhoods, Inc. of Battle Creek Board of Directors. Schauer was a founder member of Habitat for Humanity.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
All his life, Mark Schauer has been Michigan tough.
He grew up in Livingston County, where he was one of the smallest offensive linemen you’ll ever see play high
school football. His dad was a teacher and his mom was a nurse, and by pumping gas and flipping burgers, Mark
worked his way through Albion College.
When Michigan’s economy took a beating and his neighbors were struggling, Mark made it his life’s mission to help
them fight back. He ran a nonprofit agency with over 200 employees – which helped seniors and children, and
provided unemployed workers the tools to get back on their feet.
In 1994, Mark took his fight for his community to the next level, serving on the Battle Creek City Commission and
later in the state House and state Senate – where he earned a reputation for fighting back against the outsourcing
of Michigan jobs.
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Mark was elected to represent Michigan’s 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, where he was
instrumental in passing tougher Buy American laws, helping to rescue the auto industry, ensuring quality health
care for millions, and working to make college more affordable for middle-class families.
Mark and his wife Christine live in Battle Creek. Mark spends his free time herding his rescue dogs, Sheila and Shep,
and chasing after his five grandchildren.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Mark Schauer (b. October 2, 1961 in Howell, MI) is a Democratic candidate seeking 2014 election to the office of
Governor of Michigan. He formally announced his candidacy on May 29, 2013 and won his party's nomination
without opposition in the August 5 primary. Schauer will challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Snyder in the
November 4, 2014 general election.
Schauer is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House. He represented the 7th District of Michigan from 20092011.
Biography
Schauer is a native of Howell, Michigan. He holds a bachelor's degree from Albion College and worked extensively
for the community service organization Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan before entering
politics.
In 1996, after two years serving on the Battle Creek City Commission, Schauer unseated the incumbent to win
election to the Michigan House of Representatives. He was subsequently re-elected in 1998 and 2000 and then
moved on to serving two terms in the State Senate.
Political career
U.S. House (2009-2011)
Schauer was elected to represent Michigan's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2008, defeating
incumbent Tim Walberg in the general election. After one term, Walberg won back the seat from Schauer in 2010.
Voting Record
Frequency of Voting with Democratic Leadership
According to a July 2010 analysis of 1,357 votes cast from January 1, 2009 to June 16, 2010, Schauer has voted with
the House Democratic leadership 94.0% of the time. That same analysis reported that he also voted with party
leadership 95.5% of the time in 2010.
Washington Post Analysis
A separate analysis from The Washington Post, concluded that he votes 94.6% of the time with a majority of
Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Compare and contrast Mark Schauer’s strengths and weaknesses as a Democratic candidate for governor
below.
Rick Snyder:
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Rick Snyder became Michigan's 48th governor when he was sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2011. In his inaugural
address, he described his vision for reinventing Michigan by creating more and better jobs, revitalizing the
educational system, and revamping government to focus on providing excellent service to its customers, the
state's 10 million people.
With the state's people and economy struggling, Snyder infused his administration with a sense of urgency,
saying he wanted to accomplish four years of policy reforms in his first year and then maintain that pace. He
describes his approach as "Relentless Positive Action." That means solve a problem with no credit or blame
and then move on to the next one.
Bringing that business executive's approach to government has produced impressive results. With Snyder's
leadership, the state has eliminated its $1.5 billion structural deficit and produced three balanced budgets
without any accounting gimmicks. The state's "rainy day" fund has gone from nearly zero to a balance of more
than $500 million. The state also has repealed the job-killing Michigan Business Tax and replaced it with a
Corporate Income Tax that reduced the state tax burden on job providers by at least 80 percent.
The governor also has led efforts to secure pensions and retirement benefits for state employees and
teachers, while reducing long-term costs to taxpayers, and boosted state funding for K-12 education by nearly
$1 billion, or an average of $632 per pupil. Early childhood education is a priority for the governor and he's
implementing a plan to eliminate need as a barrier to attending preschool by 2015.
Snyder's reinvention of Michigan is working and making a difference in the lives of people across the state.
Michigan's economy is at a 10-year high and more than 200,000 private sector jobs have been created in the
state during the governor's tenure. Plus personal income and home values are on the rise. Most important is
the renewed optimism in Michigan and growing agreement with the governor's view that the state's people and
businesses can build a better future by working together.
As a child, home for Rick Snyder was a 900-square foot house in Battle Creek, where he lived with his mother,
a homemaker, and his father, who owned a small window cleaning company.
Growing up, he did the normal kid things: attending the local public school, spending his summers swimming,
fishing and working at a general store at nearby Gun Lake.
He also did some things that weren't typical -- like calculating the tip at restaurants for his mom when he was
five and reading Business Week when he was only eight.
It's no surprise that Snyder proudly describes himself as "one tough nerd."
Almost from the start, Rick had a plan for his life. His goal was to find success in business so he could provide
for his family and live in Michigan, and eventually identify an opportunity for public service. Public service
would be followed by teaching so he could continue to give back and help improve the state he loves so much.
He got to work on that plan in high school, taking classes at Kellogg Community College. That allowed him to
graduate early and go on to attend the University of Michigan. With a plan to finish quickly, Rick was able to
earn an undergraduate degree, an MBA and a law degree, all by the time he turned 23.
When Rick graduated, he had two job offers. One was for a job in Houston. The other paid 30 percent less to
work as a tax accountant for Coopers & Lybrand in Detroit. Rick chose to stay in Michigan to remain close to
his family and because he saw an opportunity to be mentored as he started his career.
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That decision paid off. Rick found early success at Coopers & Lybrand and became one of the youngest
partners in the firm after only six years. Beyond helping to shape his professional career, his years in the
company's Detroit office helped shape his personal life, as well. It was there that Rick met his wife, Sue, with
whom he has three children.
Coopers & Lybrand sent Rick to Chicago to build the firm's mergers and acquisitions office. That proved to be
a turning point in Rick's career. It was in Chicago that Rick met Ted Waitt, the co-founder of Gateway
Computers. Waitt offered Rick the opportunity to serve as the company's executive vice president in North
Sioux City, S.D. That role eventually would lead Rick to become president of Gateway. With Rick's leadership,
Gateway grew from a small operation with 700 employees to become a Fortune 500 company with more than
13,000 employees.
After six years with Gateway, Rick came back home to Michigan. In 1997, he formed the first of two venture
capital funds, bringing investment capital of almost $200 million to the state. One highlight of Rick's venture
capital years was the success of HealthMedia, a company that used technology and the Web to help people
improve their health. At one point, the company was so short on cash that it couldn't pay its employees. While
others lost faith, Rick believed the company's mission was a good one. He and another cofounder used their
own money to pay the employees and keep the doors open. That bold move helped HealthMedia stay in
business, grow to 150 employees, and eventually be purchased by Johnson & Johnson.
"It all started when I was on 'date night' with my wife in Ann Arbor," Rick says, when you ask him how he
decided to run for governor. He and his wife Sue were talking about the downward direction that Michigan was
headed. Rick was full of ideas about how the state needed to be reinvented, and Sue told him, "Well, why don't
you run for governor?"
And that's how a business executive started his quest for Michigan's highest political office.
Rick's candidacy was an unlikely one. He'd never run for office before, was a virtual unknown, and didn't have
any political experience. But he had a vision and a message for the state: More and better jobs and a future for
our kids. It was a message that resonated with the people of Michigan. Rick Snyder was elected governor on
Nov. 2, 2010.
Just as Rick had a plan for his professional career, he had a 10-point plan for reinventing Michigan: create
more and better jobs; leverage our new tax system; reinvent our government; keep our youth -- our future -- in
Michigan; restore our cities; enhance our national and international image; protect our environment; revitalize
our educational system; reinvent our health care system; and win through Relentless Positive Action.
The reinvention of Michigan is a growing success story that's still unfolding. It's already earned Michigan the
title of "Comeback State."
While the governor is pleased with the state's progress, he's focused on accomplishing even more.
As Governor Snyder says: "The reinvention of Michigan is working and we're seeing great results. Michigan is
the Comeback State. But too many people in our state are still struggling. There's much more we need to do to
create more jobs and expand our economy. I'm committed to continuing the reinvention of the state and to
make Michigan a great state once again."
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Compare and contrast Rick Snyder’s strengths and weaknesses as a Republican candidate for governor
below.
QW: Based on what you have read so far, who seems to be the strongest candidate for the 2014 Michigan
Governorship?
Techniques of Persuasion video notes
1. How do debates help citizens prepare for voting day?
2. As you watch this short video, take notes next to each technique. Give specific examples of where
candidates are using these techniques as they debate against their
opponents.

Appeal to emotion

Generalities

Over-simplification

Avoidance
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
Misrepresenting the opponent’s position

Testimonial

Personal attacks
3. What techniques to do you see being used in “Peace Daisy Girl”?
4. What about “Gray Dot”?
5. Which technique is the most powerful? Explain.
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Political Campaign Television Advertisements
Ad #
Ad 1
Ad 2
Ad 3
Ad 4
Ad 5
Who is the
Ad for?
What is the
Ad about?
(Main Points)
What method
of persuasion
was used?
Who
produced the
Ad?
Other
observations
and
comments
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Ad #
Ad 6
Ad 7
Ad 8
Ad 9
Ad 10
Who is the
Ad for?
What is the
Ad about?
(Main Points)
What method
of persuasion
was used?
Who
produced the
Ad?
Other
observations
and
comments
QW: Evaluate how effective these ads are at convincing potential voters.
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The Debate:
Watch the Gubernatorial debate. Describe the format, the issues
discussed, the techniques of persuasion used, and the overall effectiveness of the candidates.
QW: Who was the most convincing debater? Should debates be a/the
deciding factor for voters?
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Electoral College Turns Presidential Election into State to State Combat
While voters might think they’re voting for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney on Election Day, they’re
not. They’re voting for a member of the Electoral College-a uniquely American institution
responsible for George W. Bush’s win in 2000 despite his losing the popular vote to Al Gore, and
the reason the campaigns have spent over $25 million on ads in Ohio and nothing in Utah.
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a
compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a
popular vote of qualified citizens. It has had a profound effect on presidential elections, leading
candidates to focus on so-called battleground states instead of winning over the most total voters.
When voters cast their ballots, they’re actually selecting electors set up by each state who are pledged to
one of the candidates selected in primaries or caucuses around the nation.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the
President. Your state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional
delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for your Senators.
Under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution, the District of Columbia is allocated 3 electors and
treated like a state for purposes of the Electoral College. For this reason, in the following discussion, the
word “state” also refers to the District of Columbia.
Swing States are Battleground States
Each campaign divides the electoral map into states firmly Republican (“red”), firmly Democrat (“blue”),
and swing states. These swing states can be further divided into “leading” or “battleground” states, which
are just too close to call.
This year, some of the hottest battleground states are Nevada, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, and
Florida.
Both major party campaigns spend almost all of their time and money on battleground states.
What ACTUALLY happens when we vote
Each candidate running for President in your state has his or her own group of electors. The electors are
generally chosen by the candidate’s political party, but state laws vary on how the electors are selected
and what their responsibilities are.
The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. You
help choose your state’s electors when you vote for President because when you vote for your candidate
you are actually voting for your candidate’s electors.
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The popular vote is not important on the national level, but it is at the state level. Most states have a
“winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate. However, Maine
and Nebraska each have a variation of “proportional representation.”
After the presidential election, your governor prepares a “Certificate of Ascertainment” listing all of the
candidates who ran for President in your state along with the names of their respective electors. The
Certificate of Ascertainment also declares the winning presidential candidate in your state and shows
which electors will represent your state at the meeting of the electors in December of the election year.
Your state’s Certificates of Ascertainments are sent to the Congress and the National Archives as part of
the official records of the presidential election.
The meeting of the electors takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December
after the presidential election. The electors meet in their respective states, where they cast their votes for
President and Vice President on separate ballots. Your state’s electors’ votes are recorded on a
“Certificate of Vote,” which is prepared at the meeting by the electors. Your state’s Certificates of Votes
are sent to the Congress and the National Archives as part of the official records of the presidential
election.
Each state’s electoral votes are counted in a joint session of Congress on the 6th of January in the year
following the meeting of the electors. Members of the House and Senate meet in the House chamber to
conduct the official tally of electoral votes.
The Vice President, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results of the
vote. The President of the Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and
Vice President of the United States.
The President-Elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States on January
20th in the year following the Presidential election.
Critics
Critics of the system still argue that the system can privilege the voters of swing states as candidates will
campaign harder for their votes.
The system is weighted to benefit smaller states. For example, Wyoming, the least-populated state, gets 3
votes, giving it one Electoral College vote per 172,000 people, while California, the largest state, has 55
votes, making it one vote per 655,000 people.
Other critics say that they system is inherently undemocratic as it is possible for a candidate to win the
popular vote and still lose the election as happened in 1876, 1888, and 2000.
While many proposed constitutional amendments have been written to adopt a direct popular vote
instead of the indirect Electoral College system, none have successfully made it through both houses of
Congress.
Qs to answer:
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1. What are the requirements to vote? (4)
2. How many electors does the Electoral College consist of? Why is it this number?
3. How many Electoral College votes does a candidate have to receive to win the Presidency?
4. What do the “red” and “blue” states represent on the Electoral map?
5. Why are swing states so important in elections?
6. When you vote for your candidate, who are you actually voting for?
7. Is the popular vote more important on the national level or state level? Why might this be?
Include in your answer “winner-take-all” system.
8. Why do some people criticize the Electoral College system?
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9. Comparing small states to large states, do you think the Electoral College is a fair system?
10. Why do you think that none of the proposed Constitutional amendments that have been written
made it successfully through both houses of Congress?
Quick Write: What would be your strategy as a candidate visiting a swing
state? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFmIbrPWJ1g
How do we really elect the president? The Electoral College!
What is the Electoral College?
E·lec·tor·al College- A body of electors chosen to elect the President and Vice President of the United
States (____________________________________________)
As people vote in a presidential election they do not cast a vote __________________ for one of the
contenders for the presidency.
Instead, they vote to elect _________________________________________.
History of Electoral College
 Why did our founders design the Electoral College?
 Many different theories:
Protect small statesWanted electors to come to a decision to nominate a selection of good candidates15
How do you “win” the Electoral College?




There are currently ___________ electoral votes in the United States
__________ Senators + ________ Representatives + ______ votes for D.C = 538 electoral votes
Therefore, a candidate must receive _____________________________.
If a tie occurs (269/269), the election is given to the ________________________________
All but 2 states are “___________________________________” (Maine and Nebraska)

If MI has 16 Electoral College points, Barack Obama earns all 16 if he gets MORE popular votes
than Mitt Romney. Like this:
51% people vote for O…winner takes ____________!
49% people vote for R…loser gets _____________________!
How do states get their points?

The Constitution provides for the election of the President by the Electoral College in which each
state has as many electors as it has _____________________________________
Number of Senators (_____) + Number of Representatives (____________________________________)
Ex. Michigan- 2 Senators + 14 Representatives = _______ electors
The Framers expected electors to use their own judgment in selecting a President.
 Today, electors are expected to vote _________________________________________________from his/her
state.
Which states have gained electors?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Which states have lost electors?
1.
2.
3.
Electoral College-updated since 2010
census
4.
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Remember the “Swing States”? Why do these
matter?
Quiz Time!!!
 If Michigan has 16 electoral college votes…
How many Senators does Michigan have?_______
How many Representatives does Michigan have?________
What about for California, 55 electoral votes, how many Senators________ and Representatives_______?
How the EC works: Take notes below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUS9mM8Xbbw
Problems with the Electoral College
 The possibility that the winner of the popular vote will not win the presidency.
1824- Jackson and John Quincy Adams
1876- Hayes and Tilden
1888- Cleveland and Harrison
2000- Bush and Gore
Gore- 50,996,039 popular votes, 540,098 more than Bush. Bush won 271 electoral votes, one more
than needed to win the majority.
 Watch video clip, and take notes below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k&feature=fvwrel
How Can we Fix it? Direct Popular Election!!
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 The most popular reform is to do away with the Electoral College system and allow direct popular
election.
 Each vote would count equally in the national result.
 The winner would always be the one with the most popular votes
But this would require a Constitutional Amendment
Should we “dump the old school”? What do you think?
Quick Write: What is 1 pro and 1 con to our current Electoral College
system?
Take notes on the maps below:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/11/01/163632378/acampaign-map-morphed-by-money?sc=tw
In summary-Will we see a change to our electoral system in the next
generation, or is this who we will always be?
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Tuesday, November 4th- ELECTION DAY!
QW: Who will win the gubernatorial election? Who would you vote
for? Why?
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