Mr. Tuccillo
Chapter 9
AP Government
Nominations and Campaigns
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to discuss the two types of campaigns in American politics –
nomination campaigns and election campaigns.
2. Students will be able to describe the role of campaign strategy in winning a
nomination to elective office.
3. Students will be able to identify the general characteristics of presidential candidates.
4. Students will be able to describe and evaluate the caucus and primary methods of
delegates selection.
5. Students will be able to contrast the American primary system of nomination with
those of other nations such as Great Britain.
6. Students will be able to trace the historical evolution of national party conventions as
nominating vehicles for presidential candidates.
7. Students will be able to consider the ways that high-tech campaigning has changed
the nature of American politics.
8. Students will be able to identify the key actions that candidates must accomplish in
order to effectively organize their campaigns.
9. Students will be able to examine the growth of PACs and their impact on modern
campaigning.
10. Students will be able to assess the crucial role of money and technology in American
campaign organizations.
11. Students will be able to analyze the role the media play in influencing the style and
substance of presidential campaigns.
12. Students will be able to discuss the three effects that campaigns have on voters:
reinforcement, activation, and conversion.
13. Students will be able to evaluate whether the “openness” of the American style of
campaigning leads to a more democratic system or a less democratic system of
government.
14. Students will be able to assess whether or not American presidential elections lead to
an increased scope of government.
Outline:
I. The Nomination Game:
A. nomination: the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political
party
1. anyone can participate in the this
2. success usually requires money, media attention, and momentum
B. campaign strategy: the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their
electoral campaign
C. Deciding to Run:
1. campaigning is very strenuous and stressful and many able people decide not
to run for office because of this
2. in most countries, campaigns last no longer than 2 months (Britain is 5 weeks)
however, in the U.S. a presidential
candidacy needs to be either announced or an “open secret” for at least a year
before the election
3. presidential candidates need to be risk takers; they need enough selfconfidence to put everything on the line in
pursuit of the presidency
4. rarely has someone tried to be president without holding a key political office
first
a. 80% have been either Senators, Representatives, or governors
D. Competing for Delegates:
1. the goal of the nomination game is to win the majority of delegates’ support at
the national party convention
2. national party convention: the supreme power within each of the parties; the
convention meets every four years to nominate the party’s presidential and vicepresidential candidates and to write the party’s platform
3. from February through June of election year, the individual state parties
choose their delegates to the national convention through caucuses or primaries
4. The Caucus Road:
a. caucus: a meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to
the national party convention
1. all states used to have caucuses; now only a dozen still do
2. caucuses are open to all voters who are registered with the party
3. caucuses are usually organized like pyramids – starting at the
local level and moving up to the state convention
4. Iowa’s occurs first in the nominating season
5. The Primary Road
a. today, most of the delegates to the national conventions are selected in
presidential primaries
b. presidential primaries: elections in which voters in a state vote for a
candidate (or delegates pledged to him or her)
1. primaries were done originally to try and take power away from
party bosses
c. primaries did not really take off until after the 1968 Democratic
Convention
d. McGovern-Fraser Commission: a commission formed at the 1968
Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority
groups and others who sought better representation
1. all delegate selection procedures were required to be open –
states began to use primaries for this purpose
e. superdelegates: National party leaders who automatically get a
delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention
1. this was done to give more power to party leaders
f. primary season begins in winter in New Hampshire
g. frontloading: the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in
the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention
h. Super Tuesday: a day in March where a large number of southern
states hold their primaries
6. Evaluating the Primary and Caucus System: political scientists and
commentators have a number of criticisms
a. a disproportionate amount of attention goes to the early caucuses and
primaries
1. critics think America’s media-dominated campaigns are
distorted by early primaries and caucuses
b. running for the presidency has become a full-time job, and prominent
politicians find it difficult to take time out from their duties to run
c. money plays too big a role in the caucuses and primaries
1. some people drop out of the race because of their inability to
raise money
d. participation is low and is not representative of the voting population
1. although 50% of the population votes in November presidential
elections, only 20% cast ballots in presidential primaries
2. voters in primaries and caucuses also tend to be better educated
and more affluent than voters in general
e. primaries and caucuses exaggerate regional factors in decision making
f. the system gives too much power to the media
7. The Primary and Caucus system also has powerful defenders, including many
of the candidates themselves
a. George Bush has written that the system “bring presidential candidates
into contact with the flesh-and-blood world”
b. even losing candidates support the process – Senator Paul Simon
argues that is best to start the race in small state where people can meet the
candidates face-to-face
8. Proposals for national and regional presidential primaries
a. national primary: a proposal by critics of the caucuses and
presidential primaries , which who would replace these electoral methods
with a nationwide primary held early in the election year
1. length and costs of the campaign would be reduced, and
concentration of media coverage on this one event would increase
political interest and public understanding of the issues involved
b. critics of the national primary respond that a national primary would
almost inevitably require a runoff election between the top two finishers to
avoid having a candidate win with only a plurality of the vote
1. big money and intense attention from the national media would
become more crucial than ever, and obscure candidates would
never have a chance
c. regional primaries: a proposal by critics of the caucuses and
presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of
primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held
in each geographic region
9. The convention send-off
a. the “drama” has now been largely drained from conventions, as the
winner is usually a foregone conclusion
1. the preferences of delegates selected in primaries and open
caucuses are known before the convention begin
2. the last time there was a question of who would get a
nomination was in 1976 when Ford barely defeated Regan
b. today’s conventions are carefully scripted to present the party in its best
light
c. conventions are a significant rallying point for the parties
d. typical convention
1. Day 1: keynote speaker – recalls party heroes, condemns the
opposition party, and touts the nominee apparent
2. Day 2: party platform: a political party’s statement of its
goals and policies for the next four years
a. the platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a
committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion
to each candidate’s strength
3. Day 3: formal nomination of candidate
a. there are planned speeches and demonstrations
b. ends with a roll call
4. Day 4: nomination of vice-presidential candidate
a. speeches by those nominated
II. The Campaign Game:
A. in political campaigns, candidates allocate their scarce resources of time,
money, and energy to achieve political objectives
1. once nominated all attention is turned to the November election
B. campaigning today is an art and a science and is heavily depended on
technology
C. The High-Media Campaign
1. today, television is the most prevalent means used by candidates to
reach voters
a. some candidates have even passed out ten minute videos of
themselves rather than hand out the traditional pamphlets
b. half of a campaign budget is spent on television ads
c. people argue both ways as to the benefit of television
1. some people claim that they learn more from TV ads
than from the news
2. the internet is also quickly becoming a widely used tool for campaigns
as well
a. direct mail: a high-tech method of raising money for a political
cause or candidate involving the sending of information and
requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those
have supported similar views or candidates in the past
1. this was pioneered by Richard Viguerie (conservative
fundraiser)
2. this mailing list allows a candidate to pick almost any
issue and write a list of people concerned about it
3. virtually every decision made on the campaign trail is
determined by the media impact it will get
a. news organizations usually do not go into a lot of detail about
the candidates stances on issues, but rather the campaigns
themselves and how they are being run and what will happen next
b. three ingredients are needed to project the right image to the
voters: campaign organization, money, and media attention
D. Organizing the Campaign: to effectively organize their campaigns, candidates
must succeed in numerous key areas
1. get a campaign manager to run your campaign
2. get a fund-raiser
3. get a campaign counsel: with all the federal regulations, a legal
assistance is essential
4. hire media and campaign consultants: people that can get you the most
exposure for your money
5. assemble a campaign staff
6. plan the logistics: scheduling events and tours across the country
7. get a research staff and policy advisors: helps candidates keep up to
date on current issues
8. hire a pollster: keep tabs on how voters are feeling
9. get a good press secretary: makes sure good news is being given to
reporters
III. Money and Campaigning
A. campaigns are expensive, and they are growing more so in America’s hightech political arena
1. candidates need money to build a campaign organization and to get the
message out
2. there is a common perception that money buys votes and influence
3. in the early 1970s, momentum developed for campaign financing
reform
a. the Common Cause and the National Committee for an
Effective Congress led the drive for reform
B. Federal Election Campaign Act: 1974 law passed for reforming campaign
finances
1. it created the Federal Election Commission: a six-member bipartisan
agency which administers the campaign finance laws and enforces
compliance with their requirements
2. provided public financing for presidential primaries and general
elections
a. people donate through their tax forms
3. limits presidential campaign spending – if they accept federal support
they have to limit their spending
a. $35 million for primaries and $80 million in general election
4. required disclosure – all people running must file reports with the FEC
listing who contributed and how the money was spent
5. limited contributions – individuals may only contribute $1000 to a
campaign
a. Buckley v. Valeo, 1976: Supreme Court said you could not limit
the amount people could contribute to their own campaigns (Perot
- $60 million)
C. Soft Money: political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at
the grassroots level or the generic party advertising (because of a 1979
amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act)
1. since the money does not go to a particular candidate, there are no
contribution limits
2. critics like Senator McCain argue that people in the past who have
made large contributions have gotten government positions and also it
allows interest groups and corporations to make large contributions
D. Impact of Federal Election Campaign Act
1. campaign spending reforms have made campaigns more open and
honest
2. small donors are encouraged, and the rich are restricted in terms of the
money they can give directly to a candidate
3. all contributions and expenditure records are open, and FEC auditors
try to make sure that the regulations are enforced
E. The Proliferation of PACs
1. the campaign reforms also encouraged the spread of political action
committees
2. Political Action Committees (PACs): funding vehicles, created by
the 1974 campaign finance reforms, in which a corporation, union, or
some other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the Federal
Election Commission, which will meticulously monitor the PACs
expenditures
a. a PAC is formed when a business association, or some other
interest group decides to contribute to candidates whom it believes
will be favorable toward its goals
1. they collect money from stockholders, members, and
other interested parties
2. they can donate up to $5000 per candidate in both the
primary and general elections
b. also because of Buckley v. Valeo, they can spend unlimited
amounts if it is used for activities that are not coordinated with the
campaign
c. in 2001 the FEC said there were 3,907 PACs and in the most
recent elections they contributed some $212 million to House and
Senate candidates
1. PACs play a major role in paying for expensive
campaigns
3. critics of PACs believe that this has led to a system of open graft – they
fear that the large amount of money controlled by PACs leads to PAC
control over what the winners do once they are in office
a. example of National Association of Automobile Dealers
4. others say most PACs give money to candidates who already agree
with them
a. also with presidential campaigns the impact is even more
doubtful because these campaigns are subsidized by the public and
also presidents have well-articulated positions on most important
issues
F. Are Campaigns Too Expensive?
1. every four years, Americans spend over $2 billion on national, state,
and local elections
a. this seems like a lot of money, but is actually not compared to
the amount of money spent on other items of less importance
2. many American officeholders feel that the need for continuous fundraising distracts them from their jobs as legislators
3. some feel that public financing of congressional campaigns would
solve these problems
a. it would be difficult to get Congress to agree to equal financing
for the people who will challenge them for their seats
b. incumbents would most likely not want to lose their advantage
of raising more money than challengers
G. Does Money Buy Victory?
1. money is crucial to electoral victory
a. in this era of high-tech politics, pollsters, public relations
people, direct-mail consultants, and many other specialists are
crucial to a campaign
2. perhaps the most basic complaint about money and politics is that there
may be a direct link between dollars spent and votes received
a. others say this is not so
3. Herbert Alexander refers to “the doctrine of sufficiency” to describe
the idea that it is more important to have “enough” money than to have
“more” money – enough to compete effectively but not necessarily more
money than the opponent
IV. The Impact of Campaigns
A. all politicians figure that a good campaign is the key to victory, however,
many political scientists disagree
B. researchers say that campaigns have three effects on voters
1. reinforcement: campaigns can reinforce voters’ preferences for
candidates
2. activation: campaigns can activate voters, getting them to contribute
money or become active in campaigns
3. conversion: changing voters’ minds
C. research has shown that campaigns usually reinforce and activate and very
rarely do they convert
D. several factors tend to weaken campaigns’ impact on voters
1. most people pay relatively little attention to campaigns in the first place
a. people have a remarkable capacity for selective perception
b. selective perception: the phenomenon that people often pay
the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret
them according to their own predisposition
2. factors such as party identification – though less important than they
used to be – still influence voting behavior regardless of what happens in
the campaign
3. incumbents start with a substantial advantage in terms of name
recognition and an established track record
E. these factors do not mean that campaigns never change voters’ minds or that
converting a small percentage is unimportant
V. Understanding Nominations and Campaigns
A. Are Nominations and Campaigns Too Democratic?
1. The American political system allows citizens a voice at almost every
point of the election process, unlike many countries where a political elite
controls nominations and elections
a. as a result, party outsiders can get elected in a way that is
virtually unknown outside the United States
2. The process has also led to what some call “the permanent campaign”
a. people are constantly at work trying to get elected
b. some analysts believe the process of openness places numerous
demands on citizens; many are overwhelmed by the process and do
not participate
3. the burdens of the modern campaign can also discourage good
candidates from entering the fray
4. the current system of running for office has been labeled by
Wattenburg as the “candidate-centered age”
a. it allows for politicians to decide on their own to run, to raise
their own campaign funds, to build their own personal
organizations, and to make promises as to how they specifically
will act in office
B. Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased Scope of Government?
1. because states are the key battlegrounds of presidential campaigns,
candidates must tailor their appeals to the particular interests of each
major state
2. candidates end up supporting a variety of local interests in order to
secure votes from each region of the country
3. the way modern campaigns are conducted is thus one of the many
reasons why politicians always find it easier to expand the scope of
American government than to limit it (or make cuts)