Presidential vs. Congressional Campaigns AP GoPo

Congressional Campaigns House of Representatives: Typically not close elections – “Gerrymandering” plays a role Safe seats: – Predictable seats Upside? Downside? Coattail effect: – Boost based on popularity of other members of your party 2014 Midterms? Incumbency: – Rarely challenged for renomination within party

Steps for running a House campaign 1. Raise lots of money – Campaigns can cost millions of dollars – Expensive 2014 midterm campaigns? 2. Hire a staff – Personal organization  get yourself involved in the community – Campaign managers; public relations 3. Visibility – Getting your name out to the public in a positive way

House Campaigns Campaigns are tougher in larger states – More people to reach = more $$$ Primary election voter turnouts are low – Unless there’s a hotly contested seat General election turnout higher – Partisanship helps  voting along party lines Candidate appeal – Personal likeability, strengths, weaknesses

House Campaigns National issue impact – National tide: gun control, abortion, immigration Incumbents: – Tend to win More money & visibility – Creates idea of “permanent Congress” Open seats: – Come from redistricting (aka gerrymandering) – Deaths/retirements Booker’s seat in NJ belonged to Frank Lautenberg

Senate Campaigns More high profile than in the House – Less seats – Candidates need to be visible to more people statewide Expensive – Campaigns cost more than individual House campaigns BUT there are more House races so then end up costing more in the long term

Senate Campaigns Incumbent advantage: – Not as large as in House campaigns – Visibility plays a factor – NJ Senate race in 2014? Cost: – Depends on size of state – Think about campaigns in California vs. Wyoming – New Jersey vs. Nebraska

Types of Elections Initiative: – A procedure where a certain number of voters may, by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters How often does this happen? Referendum: – A procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to the state constitution How often does this happen? Recall: – A procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term How often does this happen?

Race to the White House Step 1: Nomination Candidates typically announce in March or April of election years – Waiting decreases campaigning time & fundraising ability Delegates choose the candidates for party nomination from those who announce their intent to run System for electing delegates to the national party convention varies from party to party & state to state – Tricky system to maneuver for candidates and their teams

Methods for Choosing Delegates 1. Primaries: – State presidential primaries  method of choosing delegates for the national convention (delegates are chosen by local parties to represent them in selecting nominees, party leaders & positions Voters in Iowa & New Hampshire are the 1 st to pick their delegates (Hence why Hillary spends so much time in Iowa-it’s not for the corn)

Methods for Choosing Delegates 2. Caucus: – Meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office & to decide platform One or both parties use both caucuses & conventions to choose delegates Iowa has the earliest caucus (in ’08 Obama out performed Clinton to clinch the nomination in Iowa in ’12 Romney did well in both caucuses and primaries)

Party Nominations To get your parties nomination a candidate has to appeal to delegate voters, who are different from general voters: -More conservative Republicans -More liberal Democrats Winning primaries sets expectations & encourages media scrutiny -Media outlets & pollsters set expectations for candidates in their campaign coverage

National Conventions Step 2: National Convention: – National meeting of delegates (selected in local levels through primaries & caucuses) Assemble every 4 years to nominate candidates for president, VP, ratify platform, elect officials, and adopt rules Delegates review candidate performance in caucuses & primaries to help select their party nominees  ratify the candidate who does the best in both

National Convention Standard convention procedure: – Day 1: speeches – Day 2: rules & regs – Day 3: balloting – Day 4: acceptance speeches (these speeches define a candidacy) Platform: party perspectives  direction party wants to take Conventions build party unity, get national attention (hopefully in a positive way)

Vice Presidential Nomination Chosen by presidential nominee typically after extensive vetting (presidential candidates have a good idea of whether or not their going to be the nominee, so they start coming up with possibilities for running mates) – ’08 Obama  Biden McCain  Palin – ’12 Obama  Biden Romney  Ryan -Try to find someone who balances the ticket (Biden has way more foreign policy experience than Obama) (Ryan appealed to the young conservative base) (Palin…)

Nomination by Petition Avoids primary elections and conventions But you need LOTS of money & be well known Qualifications vary by state: – Washington: 1,000 registered voter signatures – CO & LA: $500 or petition signatures – NC: need signatures that equal 2% of total voters in last election

General Election Step 3: General Election Campaigns start immediately after national convention (used to be a time period for rest before campaigning in the fall) – Debates are an important part of campaigning Commission on Presidential Debates (non partisan) set parameters for televised debates -Why are televised debates important?

Debates Strong criticism of debate system by third parties  no room for them, only the 2 major parties (two major parties respond by saying inviting the 3 rd parties takes away from their ability to reach voters) Advertising & campaign finance  lots of money go in to elections