Politics in States and Communities (15 Ed.) Thomas Dye and Susan MacManus

Parties and Campaigns in the States Chapter 5 Parties and Campaigns in the States

Learning Objectives Assess the effectiveness of political parties in the contemporary political arena. Compare the different ways in which political parties are involved in the process of selecting candidates for public office. Describe the activities of state and local party organizations, and compare how these activities differ during and between elections. Analyze how the fortunes of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party in the states have changed over time. Compare divided and unified party government in the states, and determine whether divided government is a major contributor to legislative gridlock. Analyze how party competition influences the operation of political parties within the states. Describe the professionals who are involved with state and local political campaigns, and outline how they use the tools of their trade. Examine the differences in campaign financing from state to state, and assess why these differences are often substantial. Evaluate the effectiveness of state and national laws that limit campaign financing in order to increase the perceived efficacy of the electoral process. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

American Political Parties: Disarray or Rebirth? Party: An organization that seeks to achieve power by winning public office in elections Responsible-Party Model: A party system in which each party offers clear policy alternatives and holds their elected officials responsible for enacting these policies in office Candidate-Centered Model: Individual candidates rather than parties raise funds, create personal organizations, and rely on professional consultants to direct their campaigns © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Responsible-Party Model As per this model, the parties: Develop and clarify alternative policy positions for voters Educate people about issues and simplify choices Recruit candidates for office who agree with the party positions Organize and direct their candidates to win elections Hold their elected officials responsible for enacting the parties’ policy positions after they were elected Organize legislatures to ensure party control of policymaking Problems with the model: Parties generally do not offer voters clear policy alternatives Voter decisions are not motivated primarily by policy considerations American political parties have no way to bind their elected officials to party positions or even to their campaign pledges © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Candidate-Centered Model of Elections The advent of primary elections Decline in party identification, increase in split-ticket voting Increased focus on candidate rather than party Influence of mass media, particularly television and the Web Decline in political patronage Rise of single-issue interest groups, PACs, and 527s © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Parties – Survivors Despite the decline, parties still perform important political functions: They organize elections and narrow the choices of political office seekers confronting the voters. They continue to play an important role in voter choice. Party organizations and activists in the states play an important role in guiding their party and in shaping its image with the voters. The Democratic and Republican parties perform the central task of organizing state legislatures. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nationwide Party Supporters © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Parties and Primaries Filing Endorsements Closed and Open Primaries Runoff Primaries Conventions Presidential Primaries and Caucuses © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Primary Elections in the States © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

State Party Organizations and Activists Activists as Ideologues Activists as Potential Candidates State Party Organizations State Laws Govern Parties State Committees State Party Chairpersons County Committees Local Party Organizations © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Political Parties Are Built from the Bottom Up © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Party Control of Governorships © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Democratic and Republican Control of State Legislatures © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

“Color-Coded” State Party Competitiveness in National Elections © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2012 Presidential Election Results Show Regional Party Strength Patterns © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bimodal Distribution of Opinion © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Professional Media Campaigns Public Relations Firms Polling Name Recognition Campaign Themes Grassroots Campaigning Media Campaigning Negative Ads Free Air Time Campaigning on the Web M-Campaigning: Mobile Technologies as Campaign Vehicles © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Money in State Politics What money can do: More important in contested primaries than general elections; “early money” especially effective Fund-raising: Has gone beyond individuals, with political action committees (PACs) increasingly important Big money in the states: In most states, top contributors include lawyers, lobbyists, and realtors Campaign spending in the states: Varies enormously, with a gubernatorial campaign in large states costing up to $20 million Third-party candidates face long odds: Typically only 2 percent win, as they have a tough time raising money, getting name recognition © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Campaign Contributions to Presidential and State-Level Candidates © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

State Campaign Finance Reform State Campaign Finance Laws Federal Campaign Finance Laws Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 The U.S. Supreme Court and Campaign Finance Do Campaign Finance Reforms Work? © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

On the Web www.democrats.org Democrats www.rnc.org Republicans www.opensecrets.org The Center for Responsive Politics www.publicampaign.org Public Campaign © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.