Political campaigns What’s it all about?

The Evolution of Campaigning An election campaign is an organized effort to persuade voters to choose one candidate over others competing for the same office. Increasingly, election campaigns have evolved from being party- centered to being candidate- centered.

Campaigns (Cont’d) Political context: An incumbent, the current officeholder, usually enjoys an advantage over a challenger, who seeks to replace him or her. An open election lacks an incumbent. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

What are campaigns for? To inform the public of what the government has been doing and to critique the performance of officials To stir up excitement for the system, and for politics in general To inform officials of the preferences of the electorate and to set priorities for action Agenda setting

Information gain Research indicates that the public gains only limited information about candidates during the campaign Much of what the public learns is questionable, inaccurate or biased Focus is often on peripheral (not the most important) cues rather than issues Physical attractiveness, speaking tone, height

Information gain Biased reception The same information gained about a favored candidate and a disfavored candidate would be interpreted differently

Content of campaign communications Distortion, untruth Images and symbolism Propaganda techniques Hoopla How could anyone make an intelligent decision based on all this junk?

Presidential v. Congressional Campaigns Lower turnout in off years (none presidential years) means that candidates must appeal to more motivated and partisan voters Members of Congress can do things for their constituents that the president cannot Members of Congress can distance themselves from the “mess in Washington”

Funding for Congressional Elections Most money comes from individual small donors ($100– $200 a person) $2,000 maximum for individual donors $5,000 limit for PACs, but most give just a few hundred dollars Challengers must supply much of their own money

Campaigns (Cont’d) Financing: Election campaigns have become very expensive, and ample financing is usually critical to success. Campaign financing for federal election today tends to be heavily regulated through the Federal Election Commission.

Campaigns (Cont’d) In Buckley v. Valeo, The Supreme Court upheld limits on contributions But declared unconstitutional limits on expenses incurred by individuals or organizations who campaigned independently on behalf of a national candidate, likening these expenditures to protected free speech. In the wake of the Watergate affair, Congress attempted to ferret out corruption in political campaigns by restricting financial contributions to candidates. Among other things, the law set limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and it required reporting of contributions above a certain threshold amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the statute. Did the limits placed on electoral expenditures by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech and association clauses?

Campaigns (Cont’d) The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act changed campaign finance rules effective for the 2004 election

Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act Raises the individual contribution limit to $2,000 to a specific candidate in a primary, run-off and general election Permits a contribution of $5,00 per year to each state party or political committee Permits a contribution of $20,000 per year to any national party committee Linked future limits to inflation

Figure 10.1: The Cost of Winning Insert 10.1 (formerly 8.1 in 9e) Updated from Federal Election Commission report, May 15, 2001. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Federal Election Commission. Figure 10.2: Growth of PACs Insert Figure 10.2 (formerly 8.2 in 9e) Federal Election Commission. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Problems with Campaign Financing Independent expenditures: an organization or PAC can spend as much as it wishes on advertising, so long as it is not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign Soft money: unlimited amounts of money may be given to a political party, so long as it does not specifically advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate.

Campaign Strategies and tactics Using information obtained from pollsters or political consultants, professional campaign managers develop a strategy that mixes party, issues, and the candidate’s “image” (perceived personal qualities).

Campaign Strategies and Tactics (Cont’d) Three basic strategies include: “Party-centered strategy” “Issue-oriented strategy” “Image-oriented strategy”

Campaigns (Cont’d) Campaign messages are disseminated (spread) to voters via the media through: News Coverage Candidate appearances on popular television programs Websites Advertising

Media in Political Campaigns Candidates use the media to creatively persuade people’s opinions of themselves and opponents Ads costs lots of $ Candidates spend lots of time raising money to fund the expensive ads

Theme A Discussion Questions 1.In the 1960 presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon, television viewers overwhelmingly considered Kennedy the victor while radio listeners considered Nixon a narrow victor. What does this evidence suggest about the impact of issues on elections? Are today’s voters more critical consumers of the media? How should a candidate devise an electoral strategy to balance personality and issues?