Campaigns and Elections Unit 1

Candidates A person running for office What does the Constitution require of presidential candidates? 35 years old Natural-born U.S. citizen Resident of the U.S. for 14 years

Primary Elections Voters choose candidates to run in the general election (in November) A primary elections or a caucus occurs in each state, from January through Summer

Primary Elections During the primary elections, candidates within a party compete against each other for the nomination… they all hope to be the nominee, and often make negative comments about the other candidate in their party

Nomination Political parties select candidates to run for public office (through primary elections and caucuses) The person selected is the nominee, or candidate

National Convention A huge meeting of delegates (representatives) from each of the 50 states who gather in August (Republicans) and September (Democrats) to officially select their candidate for the November general election After months of debates, advertising, and fighting for the nomination through primary elections, the party unifies around one candidate

Campaigning Each candidate “campaigns” by traveling around the area covered by the election (local, state, or national) giving speeches or making public appearances to gain name recognition or get the word out about he/she believes in Candidates use propaganda, both positive about themselves and negative about their opponents (mud-slinging)

Propaganda Techniques

Campaigning Millions spent on advertisements for candidates or against others—image molding Canvassing: Election workers travel around asking for help with the campaign or polling potential voters; Candidates themselves may knock on doors for local elections Some candidates use endorsements from celebrities or important community members or organizations Sometimes candidates have debates

General Election Tuesday after the first Monday in November vs.

What would you do to encourage people to get out and vote? Create your own “get out the vote” campaign Would you make posters? Write a song? Have a rally? Give an impassioned speech? Create a website? Other ideas?