Winning Office -Elections have two important parts -Nomination Process Nominated at the National Convention held by each party after primary elections in every state -Campaigning Takes place for about a year prior to a major election to inform voters

Nominating Process -Caucus -a meeting of party leaders to name candidates (Wyoming, Iowa, Texas) -Convention -meeting of party representatives (delegates) to name candidates -Primary Elections -special election held by party members to determine candidates

Primary Elections -Open Primary -primary where any voter can help chose candidates **Regardless of which political party you belong to -Closed Primary -primary where only party members are allowed to vote ** A democratic primary or republican primary -Closed are most often used to protect the party’s nominees

Presidential Candidates -selected by a combination of all three nominating processes -caucuses Meeting of state party leaders to choose a candidate -primaries May be open or closed -National convention Official nomination with SUPERDELEGATES who vote based on the primary elections.

Endorsements -using a famous person to support a candidate ** This election many celebrities are democrats or liberal and support Obama

Advertising -using the media to campaign -primary method of campaigning -negative advertising -- Process of using advertisements that focus on the faults and shortcomings of your opponent rather than your goals Also called “name calling”

Advertising -using the media to campaign -primary method of campaigning -negative advertising -- Process of using advertisements that focus on the faults and shortcomings of your opponent rather than your goals

Advertising -using the media to campaign -primary method of campaigning -negative advertising -- Process of using advertisements that focus on the faults and shortcomings of your opponent rather than your goals

Advertising -using the media to campaign -primary method of campaigning -negative advertising -- Process of using advertisements that focus on the faults and shortcomings of your opponent rather than your goals

Canvassing -person to person campaigning -Done on the local level (GRASSROOTS) -”campaign trail”

Other Methods -symbolism Using American Symbols (flag, eagle, statue of liberty) to represent a candidate -generalizations “glittering generalities” A vote for Obama is a vote for America” -bandwagon “Every woman is voting for McCain/Palin, you should too!) -Just Plain Folks Tell voters that you are just like them, an ordinary citizen with similar needs

Public Funding -Presidential Candidates get government funding for their campaigns General Election Fund-- $1 from taxes -equal funding For all major candidates -Party can spend extra on behalf of candidates Money that was NOT donated to a candidates specific campaign

Public Funding -Presidential Candidates get government funding for their campaigns -equal funding -Party can spend extra on behalf of candidates

Private Funding -private funding is limited in most cases -candidate can spend any amount of their own money -individuals can donate $2,000 -PAC-- Groups that are formed in order to raise money for candidates running for office--- they are limited to a 5,000 donation to an individual candidate -campaign finance reform

Private Funding -campaign finance reform Many laws have been passed to make sure PAC’s don’t control elections. They can however, make commercials on behalf of a candidate and put them on TV. Soft Money: This money may only come from individuals or PAC’s, and strict limits are placed on the amounts they may give. This money may be used for any purpose in a campaign. Hard Money: cash that political parties can raise in unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations, PACs and other sources. Unlimited amount but may only be used for "party-building activities" such as voter registration drives

Private Funding A Political Action Committee is a group that wants to have their cause heard by the government, so they contribute money to gain influence. This is bad because the candidate now “owes” something to the PAC. However, PACs also distribute information that politicians might not normally have access to