We The People
An Introduction to American Politics
Seventh Texas Edition
Benjamin Ginsberg  Theodore J. Lowi  Margaret Weir
10 Campaigns and Elections
Elections in America
Popular selection of public officials in competitive
elections is the essence of democracy.
However, in recent decades many Americans have
not bothered to vote, and some of our electoral
practices seem inconsistent with equality.
 While our current system clearly favors wealthy
individuals and groups, promoting equality may
require limiting freedom of expression.
What functions do elections
serve in the political process?
Elections in democratic nations allow for opposition
to compete against and even replace current
officeholders.
Authoritarian regimes use elections to mobilize
popular enthusiasm for the government, persuade
foreigners that the government is legitimate, and
allow an outlet for discontent.
Elections also promote leadership accountability,
because the threat of defeat at the polls exerts
pressure on those in government to conduct
themselves in a responsible manner.
What different types of elections are held in the
United States? What rules determine who wins
elections?
Three types of elections are held in the United
States: primary elections, general elections,
and runoff elections.
Some states also provide for referendum and
recall elections.
Most European nations employ an electoral
system that uses proportional representation.
American elections are either plurality
(general elections) or absolute majority
(primaries with runoffs) system.
How does the government determine
the boundaries of electoral districts?
 The boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts
in the United States are redrawn by the states every ten years
in response to population changes determined by the decennial
census.
 During the process of redistricting, political groups try to
gerrymander the boundaries to serve their interests.
 The Republican Party has recently pushed for until-now
unusual mid-decade redistricting to get more Republicans in
the House.
 The use of race to draw congressional district boundaries has
been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
How is the ballot determined?
Before the 1890s, parties printed their own
ballots and voters cast ballots along party lines.
The neutral ballot allows voters to cast
straight-ticket or split-ticket ballots.
Criticism of the butterfly ballots in Florida
prompted a switch to electronic ballots, which
have created a new set of problems.
How is the ballot determined?
The president is chosen by the electoral
college, reflecting the framers’ mistrust of the
people’s ability to choose their leader.
This was designed to give Congress ultimate
authority to choose the president.
 However, since the rise of the two main
parties, one candidate has received the
majority of the electoral college votes and no
presidential election since 1824 has been
decided in the House.
Election Campaigns: What are the steps
in a successful election campaign?
 A campaign is an effort by political candidates and their
supporters to win the backing of donors, political activists, and
voters in their quest for political office.
 Candidates must first organize groups of supporters who will
help them raise funds and bring their name to the attention of
the media and potential donors.
 The next step is to recruit advisors and create a formal
campaign organization.
 Public opinion polling is now a major part of any campaign.
 Candidates must successfully campaign and win the party’s
nomination in the primary.
Figure 10.1: The Typical Organization of a
National Political Campaign
Figure 10.2: Average House and Senate
Campaign Expenditures, 1980 - 2006 (top)
Figure 10.2: Average House and Senate
Campaign Expenditures, 1980 - 2006 (bottom)
Presidential Elections: How is
the president elected?
 Presidential candidates must compete in state primaries and
caucuses that occur in the first six months of an election year
to gain the party’s nomination.
 The candidate who successfully gains the majority of
convention delegates is named as the party’s candidate in the
general election.
 National conventions technically select the party’s nominee for
president; however, modern conventions simply affirm the
winner of the primary season.
 The national convention also serves as an opportunity to
display party unity and strength, adopt a party platform, and
establish party rules.
Figure 10.3: The 2008 Presidential
Election Season (top)
Figure 10.3: The 2008 Presidential
Election Season (bottom)
What factors have the greatest impact on
a general election campaign?
Modern presidential elections are driven by
polling, the media, public relations, and by
new technologies such as phone banks, direct
mail, and the Internet;
Campaigns and elections have shifted from
being labor-intensive to capital-intensive.
The increasing importance of money has an
impact on political equality, lessening the
advantage of a large grassroots base and giving
a huge advantage to wealthier interests.
How Voters Decide: What are the principal
influences on voters’ decisions?
The types of factors that influence voting
decisions include:
Partisan loyalty
Issues, especially the economy and consumer
confidence
Candidate characteristics
Figure 10.4: The Effect of Party
Identification on the Vote, 2008
Figure 10.5: Consumer Confidence and
Presidential Elections
The 2008 Election
Barack Obama, the first African American
elected as president in the history of the United
States, won 53 percent of the popular vote and
secured a 364-174 majority in the Electoral
College.
Race was a key element of the presidential
race, as was gender.
The electoral map also changed, as previously
“red” states such as Virginia shifted to “blue
state” status.
What is the history of the
GOP’s Southern Strategy?
The significance of the 2008 presidential
election is rooted in the history of race and
racial politics in the United States.
The civil rights movement of the 1960s, and
democratic support for black voting rights and
affirmative action, prompted Richard Nixon to
pursue his “southern strategy” in the 1968
election.
What is the history of the
GOP’s Southern Strategy?
Disaffected white southern voters shifted their
allegiance to the Republican party, and the once
solidly Democratic South became the solidly
Republican South.
In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan employed religious and
patriotic symbols and rhetoric that appealed to white
southerners and blue-collar white northerners.
The Republican “base” was built on a foundation of
“family values” and patriotic issues.
What is the history of the
Democrats’ racial dilemma?
Support for civil rights expanded political
power for liberals within the Democratic party,
but undermined the party’s fortunes in national
elections.
How did the 2000 and 2004 elections
factor into the changing nature of race in
politics?
In the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the
Republican base rallied around George W. Bush on
the basis of social issues, despite flagging poll
numbers due to sluggish economic growth and
growing problems in Iraq.
The Bush presidency witnessed a decline in the racial
polarization of American politics which can be traced
to Reagan’s focus on patriotism and religious values
(as opposed to the racially-charged rhetoric of the
Nixon era).
How did the 2000 and 2004 elections
factor into the changing nature of race in
politics?
Other factors, such as increasing integration of
blacks and whites and the huge influx of
immigrants from foreign countries, contributed
to the blurring of once clear-cut racial
divisions.
What were the dynamics of the
2008 presidential primaries?
The Republican candidates in the primary race for the
nomination included John McCain, Mitt Romney,
Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Rudy Guliani, and Fred
Thompson.
Of these candidates, McCain, Romney, and Huckabee
generated the most interest.
After losing in the Iowa caucus and struggling to
raise money early in his campaign, McCain managed
to secure the nomination by early March.
However, a large segment of the GOP’s conservative
base remained uninspired by McCain.
How did Clinton fare against
Obama?
 At the start of the primary season, Hillary
Clinton appeared to be the clear front-runner,
due to her Washington connections, the
popularity of Bill Clinton among Democrats,
and her ability to generate campaign
contributions.
The pool of Democratic candidates for the
nomination also included John Edwards, Bill
Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel,
Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Barack Obama.
How did Clinton fare against
Obama?
Of these candidates, the first-term senator Obama was
the surprise, and throughout the course of the primary
debates, he distinguished himself through his
consistently articulate command of the issues.
Obama’s presence in the race electrified liberal
Democrats, excited young voters, intrigued the media,
and ignited the enthusiasm of black Democrats.
By late spring, it was clear that Obama would secure
the nomination, with the party’s superdelegates
shifting their support to Obama.
Clinton withdrew her nomination and supported
Obama in the race.
What were the strategies used by Obama
and McCain in the general election?
Obama garnered support from all sides of the
Democratic party, and chose Joe Biden as his
running mate.
Biden’s presence on the ticket was expected to
appeal to blue-collar voters, whom the
Democrats needed in such battleground states
as Ohio and Pennsylvania.
What were the strategies used by Obama
and McCain in the general election?
McCain chose little-known Alaskan governor Sarah
Palin as his running mate.
Palin’s presence on the ticket excited many
Republicans who had been cool toward McCain,
since she was a religious conservative who opposed
abortion.
Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention
attracted more than 50 million viewers and catapulted
her into the national spotlight, yet subsequent
television interviews prompted doubts about her
knowledge of political issues and her readiness for a
national campaign.
What were the strategies used by Obama
and McCain in the general election?
The Obama campaign declined general
election public funding, and opted for
grassroots fundraising efforts which produced
over 700 million dollars for the campaign
McCain, who had struggled to gain donations
from traditional GOP donors, accepted public
funding and was left at a financial
disadvantage in the campaign.
How did the presidential debates
create an advantage for Obama?
Both Obama and McCain demonstrated knowledge of
key issues and intelligence surrounding the
challenges facing America in the future.
However, Obama had more to prove to his audience,
since McCain’s experience in Washington was
considered an asset.
Obama’s manner during the debates—cool, calm, and
reassuring—contrasted with McCain’s, which was
often twitchy.
Obama’s approval ratings rose after the presidential
debates, while McCain’s ratings faltered.
How did Obama secure his
victory in the 2008 election?
The faltering economy, the public’s growing disfavor
for the incumbent Republican president, and the
Democrats’ enormous financial advantage all
contributed to Obama’s victory in November 2008.
Obama increased Democrats’ margins amongst
various voting blocks as compared to John Kerry four
years earlier.
Obama polled 43 percent of the white vote, two points
more than the percentage polled by Kerry.
Obama also ran well among Latinos (66 percent),
young people (66 percent), and among black voters,
where he took 95 percent of the vote.
How did Obama secure his
victory in the 2008 election?
Two Democratic constituencies, women and Jews,
who had favored Hillary Clinton in the primaries
gave their support to Obama in the general election.
Obama won 56 percent of the vote among women
and 78 percent among Jews.
Despite fears of a “Bradley effect”, both white and
minority voters opted for an African-American
president, which is reflective of a softening of racial
antagonisms over the past fifty years and the
delegitimization of overtly racist rhetoric in the public
forum.
Figure 10.6: Distribution of Electoral
Votes in the 2008 Election
Money and Politics
 Modern national political campaigns are fueled by enormous
amounts of money.
 Campaign funds come from a variety of sources, including
individual donors, political action committees, the candidates,
nonprofit independent 527 and 501c(4) groups, the parties, and
public funding.
 The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was an attempt to
limit soft money and may strengthen the power of PACs and
527 and 501c(4) groups.
 The federal government attempts to regulate campaign
finances through the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Box 10.1: Federal Campaign
Finance Reform (top)
Box 10.1: Federal Campaign
Finance Reform (bottom)
How does money affect the ways certain
social groups achieve electoral success?
Wealthy groups clearly have more influence in
the electoral process.
However, many doubt the wisdom of limiting
freedom to attain the goal of equality.
Table 10.1: The Top 15 527 Committees
(top)
Table 10.1: The Top 15 527 Committees
(bottom)
Thinking Critically about the
Electoral Process
Campaign finance produces a clash of values
Americans are wary of the high cost of
campaigns and the apparently sinister role of
campaign contributions in politics, but limiting
the flow of money to candidates and reforming
spending practices may also discourage lively
and vigorous political debate.
Clicker Questions
Except in rare occasions, boundaries for
congressional and state legislative districts in
the United States are redrawn by the states
every _______ years.
a) two
b) ten
c) twenty
d) twenty-five
Clicker Questions
The right of candidates to spend their own money on
running for office:
a) is limited by a cap of $50 million
b) is protected by the First Amendment right of free
speech
c) was forbidden by the Campaign Reform Act of
2002
d) is allowed only if the candidate could meet every
personal dollar with a dollar of outside donations
Clicker Questions
Which are organizations established by
corporations, labor unions, or interest groups
to channel the contributions of their members
into political campaigns?
a) special interest groups
b) political action committees
c) congressional campaign committees
d) so-called soft money cartels
Clicker Questions
Which of the following widely used systems had
the effect of diminishing the power of
American party leaders?
a) proportional representation
b) machine system
c) primary system
d) patronage system
Clicker Questions
In most states, how do independent and third-party
candidates qualify for the general election ballot?
a) by paying a small filing fee with a state’s secretary
of state
b) by winning a primary election in which all
independent and third-party candidates are on the
ballot
c) by obtaining thousands of petition signatures
d) by qualifying automatically
Public Opinion Poll
Which electoral system do you believe is best?
a) A plurality system
b) A proportional representation system
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe it is appropriate to use race and
ethnicity as criteria for drawing legislative
district boundaries?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe the Democratic and Republican
Parties should adopt a national primary to
select their party’s presidential nominees?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
Do you think presidential candidate appearances
on talk shows contribute to a more informed
electorate?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe the Internet has made electoral
campaigns more democratic, less democratic,
or has had no effect?
a) More democratic
b) Less democratic
c) No effect
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe American political campaigns
help voters make decisions or do they
produce more confusion than enlightenment?
a) Help voters make decisions
b) Produce more confusion
Public Opinion Poll
Do you support or oppose laws requiring voters
to produce photo identification at the polls?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Strongly oppose
Oppose
Support
Strongly support
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe there should be limits on the
amount of money candidates can spend on
campaigns?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe there should be limits on the
amount of money individuals can contribute
to campaigns?
a) Yes
b) No
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This concludes the Norton Instructor’s
Resource Slide Set for Chapter 10
We The People
An Introduction to American Politics
Seventh Texas Edition
Benjamin Ginsberg
Theodore J. Lowi
Margaret Weir
Copyright © 2009 W. W. Norton & Company