National Conventions

National party conventions They meet for 4 days during late Summer of the presidential election year This is the only time the Democrat and Republican parties meet on a national basis, otherwise they are state based parties By tradition, the challenging party holds their convention first The conventions are attended by the delegates who are mostly chosen during primaries and caucuses Many functions of national party conventions have been overtaken by the primary process as it has developed A big media event held at the end of the primary season and sets the scene for the election battle to come

Functions of conventions 1.To choose the parties presidential candidate Before 1968 reforms delegates would come to the convention undecided and the process of choosing would take place in the convention. There is a roll-call vote in which each state’s delegates announce which candidate they wish to vote for. However, most delegates now come to the convention from the primaries as ‘committed delegates’ thus, the result is a foregone conclusion and the convention CONFIRMS the candidate.e.g John Kerry knew 4 months before the convention that he would be the nominee.

Delegates Look at the table and answer the question For the Democrats, unpledged delegates are members of the DNC, elected officials such as senators or leading party figures known as superdelegates. They made 19% of the total. Obama had support of the majority of superdelegates in order to ensure his nomination. Without these he would not have won. Republicans also award bonus delegates based on the party’s voting strength in a state.

2. Choosing the Vice presidential candidate Today running mate is chosen by the presidential candidate and confirmed by the convention Obama announced Biden as his running mate 2 days before the Democrat convention via text message to thousands of people

Choice of running-mate: Joe Biden Historically, presidential hopefuls hope to present a balanced ticket with regards to their choice of running mate Given criticisms of Obama’s lack of experience, Biden was a much more experienced politician He was elected to Senate in 1972 at age of 30 Biden is known for his lengthy speeches He has made 2 previous unsuccessful bids for the presidential nomination In 1988 he had to drop out as it transpired he had plagiarised parts of a speech made by Neil Kinnock In 2008 he came 5 th in the Iowa caucuses and withdrew He has been a powerful member of the Senate Judiciary Committee as chairman between 1987 and 1995 More recently he has been chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

3. Deciding the party platform The party platform contains the policies the candidate intends to pursue if elected. The Platform Committee draws up the platform, after holding hearings around the country 2008 party platform for Democrats included promises of money to jumpstart the economy and healthcare reform The Republican platform talked of tax cuts but did not commit the party on foreign policy Often the platforms are bland and non offensive, worded so no-one would disagree This is to ensure that the convention gives the impression of party unity before the election campaign

Are conventions still important? The 3 formal functions have declined in importance, however, there are still informal and hidden functions which are still significant: 1. Promoting party unity Primary battles can be bitter, it is important that any open wounds are healed before the election campaign. In 1992 Bush was at loggerheads with Buchanan but went on to deliver a famous ‘culture wars’ speech at the convention to heal the rift publically, however, Bush still went on to lose. Both Clinton’s appeared during the 2008 Democrat convention to endorse Barack Obama.

2. Enthusing party faithfuI There is a need to enthuse supporters before the election campaign. This was done effectively via Ted Kennedy’s appearance at the Democrat convention pTU

3. Enthusing ordinary voters This can be done by the prospective president’s acceptance speech. Candidates hope to achieve ‘bounce’ i.e. an increase in support as a result of the convention. On average the bounce is 5%. Obama got a 4% bounce and McCain 6% However, the bounce is not always a good indication of who will eventually win.

Are modern day conventions important? Formal functions have declined. In 2008 only 29% of voters said that the convention was important to their vote TV coverage has declined However, Obama made his reputation in the 2004 convention. aJ0