AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

THE ROLE OF CONVENTIONS  The first method for political parties to nominate Presidential candidates was the Congressional caucus  1832—both major parties turned to the national convention  CONVENTION ARRANGEMENTS  Convention system has been built entirely by political parties

 The national committee sets the date and picks the place  Usually the party out of power has their convention first– usually July  The President’s party convention is usually in August  Major cities bid for the right to hold the convention because of the financial return

 THE APPORTIONMENT OF DELEGATES  National committee determines how many delegates each state can send  Complicated formulas award bonus delegates to states based on support in prior elections  SELECTION OF DELEGATES  State law and/or party rules fix the procedure for picking delegates in each State

 Republican Party leaves delegate selection to the State party  Democratic Party has national rules to govern the selection process  These rules attempt to broad participation for young people, African Americans, other minorities, and women

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES  More than ¾ of all delegates come from States that hold Presidential Primaries  PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY—an election in which a party’s voters:  1) choose some of all of a State party organization’s delegates to the national convention and/or  2) express a preference among various contenders for their party’s presidential nomination

 HISTORY OR THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY  First appeared in early 1900s as part of the reform movement  WI passed the first primary law in 1905  By 1916 nearly half the states had adopted primaries  Primaries fell into dis-favor so that by 1968 only 16 states and D.C. had one  In 2004—36 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico had primaries

 PRIMARIES TODAY  State rules for primaries have been re-written several times over the years  NH guards its status as having the first primary in the US  Most states prefer to have their primary early so the most primaries are held before mid- March

 PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION  Some primaries were winner-take-all  The victor got all the delegates in that state  Democratic Party has banned winner-take-all primaries  Democrats have a complex PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION rule  If a candidate gets at least 15% of the preference vote, they get a corresponding % of the delegates available  Ex. Candidate A gets 45% of the vote. There are 100 delegates available. Candidate A would get 45 delegates.  Most states had to change primary laws to get in line with Democrats’ proportional representation

 More than half the states now only hold a preference primary  Delegates are chosen at party conventions  EVALUATION OF THE PRIMARY  Primary system complicated with confusing variations  Primaries tend to democratize the delegate- selection process

 Primaries force would-be nominees to test their candidacies in actual political combat  Key function of primaries: screen out lesser possibilities to the point where only one or a few contenders remain  Few major contests for party in power because:  1) President is seeking re-election  2) President backs someone who is seeking re- election  President regularly gets his way

 REFORM PROPOSALS  1) Do away with state primaries and have a national primary to chose the top candidates  This would do away with conventions except to possibly pick a vice-presidential nominee  2) Have a series of regional primaries, held at two- or three-week intervals in groups of states  Either of these proposals would require action from Congress, States, and political parties

THE CAUCUS-CONVENTION PROCESS  States without primaries choose their delegates by caucuses and conventions  The caucus system is the oldest method used to pick national convention delegates  Iowa caucuses tend to get the most attention because they are the first delegate-selection event every presidential cycle

THE NATIONAL CONVENTION  Three major goals:  1) naming the party’s presidential and vice- presidential candidates  2) bringing the various factions and the leading personalities in the party together in one place for a common purpose  3) adopting the party’s PLATFORM (a formal statement of basic principles, stands on major policy matters, and objectives for the campaign.

TTHE FIRST TWO DAYS FFirst day: ---welcome delegates ---organize convention ---dozens of short speeches from various people SSecond Day: ---speeches continue ---adoption of the party platform ---delivery of the keynote address

 The platform is usually written by the party leadership before the convention and is presented as a report from the committee on platform and resolutions  The KEYNOTE ADDRESS (major speech) is usually a barn-burner and given by one of the party’s most accomplished orators  The speech follows a predictable pattern: glorify the party, its history, its leaders, and its programs, and blister the other party, and predict victory in November

 THE LAST TWO DAYS  Nomination of candidates for Vice-President and President  Presidential & Vice-Presidential candidates gives acceptance speeches

WHO IS NOMINATED?  Incumbent President make selection easy  If there is no incumbent, as many as a dozen candidates may surface to run and usually 2 or 3 make it to the convention  POLITICAL EXPERIENCE  The person that is the most electable  Extensive public record that is free of controversy  Previous elective office preferred  Exception: Eisenhower 1952

 Governorships of larger states have produced the most candidates since 1900—11  Jimmy Carter (GA-1976, 1980), Ronald Reagan (CA- 1980, 1984), Michael Dukakis (MA-1988), Bill Clinton (AR-1992, 1996), George W. Bush (TX-2000, 2004)  OTHER CHARACTERISTICS  Most candidates have been Protestant  Exceptions (all Dem. & Catholic)—Alfred E. Smith 1928, JFK 1960, RFK 1968, Michael Dukakis (Eastern Orthodox) 1988, John Kerry 2004

MMost have come from larger states—NY, OH, IL, TX, CA MMost have a pleasant and healthy appearance, appear to be happily married, and have an attractive family AA well-developed speaking ability is a plus FFew female candidates—Geraldine Ferraro 1984 (VP), Hillary Clinton (2008) TTHE END