Presidential Nomination Phase GOVT 2305, Unit 10

Overview The presidential election process consists of two distinct phases with different rules, requiring candidates to wage two separate campaigns. Nomination stage: The first phase is the contest for the nomination. Candidates compete for their party's nomination, which is awarded at a national party convention by majority vote of the delegates in attendance. General election stage: The second phase is the general election contest. The two major party candidates along with third-party candidates and independents compete to win an Electoral College majority in the November general election.

Party Conventions Each party officially awards its nomination to the candidate who wins a majority of the delegates at a national party convention held in August or early September of an election year. The 2016 Democratic National Convention will be in Philadelphia. The 2016 Republican National Convention will be in Cleveland.

Convention Delegates Important Point The delegates at the national political party conventions are the actual people who pick the presidential nominee for their party. Each state party selects individuals to represent the state at the party’s national convention. Candidates compete for their party’s nomination by working to get their supporters selected as national convention delegates.

Delegate Selection Process Presidential Preference Primary Caucus Method of Delegate Selection A presidential preference primary is an election in which party voters cast ballots for the presidential candidate they favor and in so doing help determine the number of national convention delegates that candidate will receive. Democratic voters select among Democratic candidates; Republican voters choose among GOP presidential contenders. The caucus method of delegate selection is a procedure for choosing national party convention delegates that involves party voters participating in a series of precinct and district or county political meetings. The process begins with party members attending local precinct meetings or caucuses that elect delegates to district or county meetings. The district/county meetings in turn select delegates for the state party convention. Finally, the state convention chooses national-convention delegates.

Primaries and Caucuses 2016 Note: The delegate selection process is a state-by-state process that covers the early months of an election year.

The Road to the Nomination The 2016 presidential nomination contest has already begun and will continue through the summer of 2016.

Invisible Primary The invisible primary is the period between the time when candidates announce their intention to run for the presidency and the actual delegate selection process begins. Candidates fundraise, build name ID, seek endorsements, create organizations, debate, and compete in straw polls. Donald Trump campaigns in New Hampshire.

Who’s running, who’s ahead, who’s behind?

The early contests The first caucus (in Iowa) and the first primary (in New Hampshire) help define the candidate field by establishing some candidates as frontrunners and eliminating others as serious contenders. The Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary receive enormous media attention because they are the first caucus and the first primary of the nomination process. Notice anything in particular about these Iowa Caucus goers? They are a bunch of old white people.

Importance of Iowa and New Hampshire No one has been elected president in the modern era without finishing first or second in either the Iowa Caucus or the New Hampshire Primary. Critics note that these are both small states with neither ethnic diversity nor major urban areas. Hillary Clinton visiting Iowa in September 2014: “I’m back!”

Super Tuesday A dozen states have scheduled delegate selection events (primaries or caucuses) for Tuesday, March 1, including Texas. Candidates with money, organization, and name recognition benefit from the frontloaded nomination process because they have the resources to compete in dozens of states within a matter of a few days.

Post-Super Tuesday Contests Although the nomination is often wrapped up at this point, primaries and caucuses continued through early June. In 2012, free media through debates and millionaire money kept some candidates going longer than they would have in previous years.

Sheldon Adelson Casino owner Sheldon Adelson spent $10 million on behalf of Newt Gingrich, keeping him in the race long after it was apparent Gingrich had no chance for the nomination. Altogether, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson spent nearly $93 million in the 2012 election period. Almost all of the candidates they supported lost.

Transition The period from the end of the nomination contest until the national party conventions in mid-summer is a time of transition. Once the frontrunner has enough delegates to ensure nomination, party leaders begin urging the remaining candidates still in the race to drop out in the name of party unity. In the meantime, the campaign of the eventual nominee begins to change focus. Once it was clear that Romney was the nominee, the Obama campaign used its considerable financial advantage to undermine his support.

National Party Conventions Adopt party platform Officially nominate presidential candidate Officially nominate vice presidential candidate Put best face on party and its candidates

Balancing the Ticket with a VP Choice Racial, ethnic, religious, and gender diversity; Regional balance; Ideological balance; Experience; Factional balance (in hopes of healing divisions produced by a bruising primary battle); and Personal characteristics, such as age, style, and personal appeal.

Joe Biden Obama chose Biden in 2008 to balance his own relative lack of experience, especially in foreign and defense policymaking.

Paul Ryan In 2012, Romney chose Congressman Paul Ryan, the chair of the House Budget Committee and a Tea Party favorite, to help energize the conservative base behind his candidacy. Ryan, who is from Wisconsin, might also help win votes in the Midwest.

What You Have Learned Who or what officially chooses each party’s presidential nominees? How are delegates selected to attend the conventions? What are the major stages of the nomination process? What does it mean to “balance the ticket?”