Introduction to the
American Political Process
Elections
The Dynamics of the Electoral Campaign
zWinnowing
zThe “Big Mo”
{Election – The horserace
{Pre-Election: Name recognition and money
zThe Horserace
{Creating Momentum
CNN/USA Today Poll
1/17-1/19
1/20-1/22
Kerry
17%
34%
Dean
32%
22%
Money Raised
Money Spent
Presidential Elections
zElectoral College
zStrategy
{Series of Local Elections
{NY vs. PA
{Battleground States
State
Margin of Victory
Electoral Votes
Bush Wins
Florida
0.01%
27
New Hampshire
1.27
4
Missouri
3.34
11
Nevada
3.55
5
Ohio
3.55
20
Tennessee
3.86
11
Arkansas
5.45
6
West Virginia
6.02
5
Arizona
6.29
8
Total: 97
Gore Wins
Wisconsin
0.02%
10
New Mexico
0.06
5
Oregon
0.05
7
Minnesota
2.4
10
Pennsylvania
4.17
21
Maine
5.11
4
Michigan
5.13
17
Washington
5.58
11
Total: 85
Congressional Elections
zHouse Elections
{Name recognition
{The advantages of incumbency
zFranking
zFundraising
zSenate Election
{Lessened incumbency advantage
Incumbent Victory Rate: 1946-1998
100
90
80
70
Percent Win
60
50
40
House
30
Senate
20
10
0
1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998
Year
How Do Voters Decide
zThe Multiple Bases of the Vote
{Party identification
{Issues and policies
{Candidate attributes
{Retrospective evaluations
Party Identification
zMeasurement and predictive ability
{“Generally speaking, do you consider yourself a
Democrat, a Republican, or an independent?”
{High loyalty
zThe psychological perspective
zThe rational perspective
zBringing it together
{Theories not exclusive
{Party identification is the baseline for the vote
Other Bases of the Vote
zIssues and Policies
{Elect candidates who share your views
{Issue conflicts
zCandidate Attributes
{Voting for a person, not policies
{Less “rational”?
{Attribute components
zRetrospective Voting
{“Throw the bums out”
Campaigns
zCandidates and Campaigns
{How do candidates attract supporters?
zCandidate Strategies
{Adapt to voter sentiment
zMove to the middle
{Framing
zDefining the race
Campaigns (continued)
zNegative Advertising
{How do candidates attract supporters?
{Effects of negative campaigns
zTurnout effects
zCynicism
NJ 12 – DCCC
NRCC – NJ 12
Campaigns
z Negative Campaigns (cont)
{Are things getting worse?
Campaigns
zCampaign Effects
{Predictive Models
{Mobilization vs. Conversion
Campaign Finance
zThe importance of money
zFederal Election Campaign Act (FECA)
zCircumventing the system: Soft Money
zIssue ads and “magic words”
{"vote for," "elect," "support," "cast your ballot
for," "Smith for Congress," "vote against,"
"defeat," and "reject”
General, President
Congress
President
PAC, Congress
1000
900
Millions of 2000 Dollars
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
1900
1920
1940
Year
1960
Spending Over Time in Real 2000 Dollars
1980
2000
Soft Money Activity
Non-Federal Disbursements
$70,000, 000
$60,000, 000
$50,000, 000
DSCC
$40,000, 000
DCCC
$30,000, 000
NRSC
NRCC
$20,000, 000
$10,000, 000
$0
1994
1996
1998
2000
NRCC – WA 2
Campaign Finance (cont)
zBipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
zMcConnell v. FEC
{Ban soft money and limit issue ads
{Through out bans on contributions from minors,
non-candidate party spending
zNew definition of issue ads
{Magic words or depicting a federal candidate
within 60 days of a federal election
z527 organizations – MoveOn.org
General, President
Congress
Total, President
PAC, Congress
3000
Millions of '2000 GDP' Dollars
(Deflated by Current GDP/2000 GDP)
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1900
1920
1940
Year
1960
Spending Over Time Deflated by GDP
1980
2000