Chapter 16, Section 3
Nominating Candidates
Mr. Young
American Government
Republican vs. Democrats
(Foundations)
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Northern US
Evangelical
Protestants
Favored abolition
of slavery and
alcohol
Harsh Immigration
Laws
Northern Financial
Interests
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Poor farmer in
South and Western
frontier
State’s rights
Did not want to
abolish slavery
Identified with
immigrants
Republican Party
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Lead charge for state’s rights,
wanting states not federal
government to manage issues and
programs
Smaller government and get federal
government off backs of states,
business, and individuals (only
foreign policy and defense)
Oppose gun control
Generalization of GOP
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Higher-income individuals
Self-employed individuals
Business people
College-educated
Small-town more than big-city
Men
Whites
Fundamental or evangelical Christians
Protestants
Democratic Party
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Believe the federal government
should play major role in assisting
citizens and helping with problems
Less willing to turn over federal
dollars to the states
Favor gun control, affirmative action,
and higher taxes
Generally pro-choice on abortion
Generalization of Democrats
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Less-educated and highly-educated
Working-class citizens (especially
unionized workers)
Minority groups (Especially African
American and Non-Cuban Hispanics)
Women (especially unmarried)
Jewish and (to a lesser extent)
Catholic voters
Urban rather than rural people
Make your own choice
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Look at platforms of parties
Choose the party that best fits your
personality, interests, and beliefs as a
whole
Here are some major issues to look at:
Tax Policy
Role of Federal Government
Social Issues
The environment
Essential Question
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What are the five different way that
a candidate can be selected or
nominated?
What is the purpose of the national
convention? What happens at the
national convention?
1) Caucuses
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Is a meeting of likeminded people that
select candidates
for upcoming
elections
Early caucuses were
private meetings
Used in the early
days but not
considered
democratic because
not everyone got a
say.
Iowa Caucus Voters
2) Petitions/Self-announcements
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Some states require
not only third
parties candidates
but all candidates
have a petition with
a certain number of
signatures
Write in candidates
will use the method
of selfannouncements
Used most at local
level of government
3) Nominating Conventions
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An official public
meeting of a party to
choose candidates for
office
In each local area,
party members elect
delegates to represent
them at county
conventions; county
elect State, State elect
National, and National
elect Pres and Vice
Powerful party bosses
corrupted the
nominating convention
4) Primary Elections
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Most widely used
method is direct
primary- an election
in which party
members select
people to run in the
general election
Closed primary- in
which only members
of a political party
can vote
Open primary- all
voters may
participate even if
they do not belong
to a party.
Primary Elections Cont.
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Washington and
California have used a
blanket primary- voters
can nominate a
Democrat or Republican
for each office
In most states a
candidate only needs a
plurality- more votes
than the other personto win.
Runoff primary- second
primary election
between two candidates
who received the most
votes
Primary Elections Cont.
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Nonpartisan primary- candidates are
not identified by party labels (used a
lot in local elections such as city
officials and school offices or certain
judgeships)
Primary vs. Caucus
Primary vs. Caucus
It has been said that primaries reflect broad-based voter appeal,
while caucuses measure voter intensity. There may be something
to that. Turnout for caucuses are usually only a fraction as large as
for primaries, yet often the candidate that can generate the most
passionate support can dominate the caucuses. That was the case
in the high-profile Democratic presidential contest in 2008. Four
states held both a primary and caucus, and in each Barack Obama
ran decidedly better in the caucus.
Primary and Caucuses Video
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z
_QeYCg4yJ8
Khan Academy
Presidential Nominations
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Major task of delegates at national
convention is to select a ticket,
candidates for president and vice
president
Varies from state to state and even
from political party to political party
Presidential Nomination Cont.
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2.
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Three generalizations about presidential
primaries
They may be a delegate selection
process or a presidential selection
preference poll, or both
Either the candidate gets all the state’s
convention votes (“winner-take-all”), or
each candidate gets delegates based on
number of popular votes
Delegates selected based on the basis of
popular vote may have to support
candidate at convention, or may not
Primary Cont.
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2.
3.
4.
Some criticisms of
the primary method
are
It can divide the
loyalty of the party
It is too costly, too
long, and some
lower income people
cannot seek office
Voter turnout is
often low
Candidates more
important than the
issues
National Convention according
to Norman Mailer
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"a fiesta, a carnival, a pig-rooting,
horse-snorting, band-playing,
voice screaming medieval get
together of greed, practical lust,
compromised idealism, careeradvancement, meeting, feud,
vendetta, conciliation of rabblerousers, fist fights, embraces,
drunks and collective rivers of
animal sweat."
The National Convention
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National
Committee chooses
the site and dates
for the convention
Also tells each
state party how
many votes the
state will have at
the convention
Rules Committee
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Each party’s rules
committee governs
the way the
convention is run; in
most cases the
delegates accept the
rules committee’s
reports, but
sometimes hardfought battles take
place by delegates
who oppose
decisions made by
the rules committee
Credentials Committee and
Committee on Permanent Org.
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Must approve the delegations from
each state, and sometimes lively
fights have occurred between rival
delegations for a state’s seats
A committee on permanent
organization selects the permanent
chairperson and other permanent
officials for the convention
Platform Committee
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The Platform
Committee is assigned
the important task of
writing the party’s
platform—a statement
of its principles, beliefs,
and positions on vital
issues
Planks, or individual
parts of the platform,
may divide the
delegates
If the platform divides
the party, the party
stands a good chance
at losing the election
Vice-Presidential Nomination
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Presidential
nominee selects a
running mate that
is automatically
accepted by
convention
Selected to balance
the ticket, meaning
that he/she has a
personal, political,
or geographical
background that is
different