Consider: Why do we have the Electoral College?
The Last Word: Assignment 7, 8 due Tuesday
AP Government and Politics
Unit 3
Elements of Presidential Campaigns

Money – over $3 billion spent in 2012
 Much spent on advertising
 What is the overall impact of TV political ads (spots) on voters?
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Organization – staff to run campaign
Theme and Strategy
○ Tone – positive or negative
○ Theme
 Trust, competence, stay the course, change, compassionate conservatism
○ Timing – early primaries,
 Go for broke or hold back reserves
○ Targets – which voters?
 Only some change votes from one election to next.

Issues
○ Position (two sides) vs. Valence (one side, who’s better)
 Valence becoming more important

Televised Debates
○ Why would incumbent NOT want to debate a challenger?
Primaries and Caucuses
 Methods to select delegates
 Winner-take-all primary
 Proportional representation primary
 Caucus
 Selecting a system
 Frontloading
 Why might some states want to move the date of
their primary forward?
12.2
Republican Primaries/
Caucuses for the 2012
election
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January 3rd, 2012 – Iowa caucuses
January 10th – New Hampshire primary
January 21st – South Carolina primary
January 31st – Florida primary
February 4th – Nevada caucuses
March 6th (SUPER TUESDAY)- primaries in…
 Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia
**April 24th – Pennsylvania primary
June 5th – California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota
June 26th – Utah
Why might some states want to move the date of their primary
forward?
When do states choose their nominee for president?
Super
Tuesday
Name for the day in a
presidential campaign when
many states hold their
primaries.
In the 2012 campaign, Super
Tuesday fell on March 6th
(usually in Feb)
 Many states had both their 2012 Democratic and
Republican primaries on that day….
○ Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia
 Candidates can take a huge lead, become a front-
runner, or drop out
Electing a President: The
Electoral College
 Historical challenges
 Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, 1800
 John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, 1824
 George W. Bush and Al Gore, 2000
12.2
The Electoral College
What is it?
 Why is it used?

 Federalism
 Framers fear that voters would not know enough about
national candidates
○ Communication
○ Transportation
○ Information
How are the votes/voters determined?
 What are the consequences, both good and bad,
of using this system?

How is voting power apportioned in the EC?
12.2
Electing a President: The
Electoral College
12.2
 Should the Electoral College be reformed?
 Abolish in favor of popular vote
 Congressional district plan
 Proportional votes by state
Consider: If we dislike DC so much, why do elected officials win
re-election so much?
The Last Word: Assignment 9 due tomorrow
Which states have the “first in the nation” caucus
and primary?
 Why do many states want to move their primaries
earlier in the year?
 What are “super-delegates”?
 When voters select a candidate, who are they
really choosing?
 How many electoral votes are there in the
country?
 How is a states EV total determined?
 Why do we have the Electoral College?

Consider: If we dislike DC so much, why do elected officials win
re-election so often?
The Last Word: Assignment 8 due tomorrow
Presidential and Congressional Elections

Congressional races are different from Prez races
in several ways
 Prez races are more competitive, last longer
 Turnout lower in midterms
○ Changes appeal to voters
 MoCs can help constituents in ways president cannot
 MoCs can “run against DC” – how is this possible?
 MoCs sometimes enjoy protection/insulated from party
of president
○ Coattail effect has lessened as people vote split ticket
more often
○ This also illustrates weakening effects of party
The Incumbency Advantage
 Staff Support
 Directly or indirectly support incumbent through
constituent service
 Visibility
 Easy access to local media
 Generous travel allowances
 Scare-off effect
 Challengers shy away from incumbent’s institutional
advantage
12.3
Getting back to the House…
Senate re-election rates
Why Incumbents Lose
 Redistricting
 Can punish incumbents in the out-of-power party (at
the state level)
 Scandals
 Sexual improprieties or other offenses– Trey Radel?
 Presidential Coattails
 Incumbent presidential election loss can trickle down
 Mid-Term Elections
 Can threaten incumbents of president’s party
12.3
How does the president affect congressional elections?