1. Nominations and Campaigns
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Thirteenth Edition, and Texas Edition
Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry
Chapter 9
Nominations and Campaigns
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The Nomination Game
Nomination: the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
Generally, success requires momentum, money, and media attention.
Campaign Strategy: the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign
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The Nomination Game
Deciding to Run
Campaigns are more physically and emotionally taxing than ever.
Other countries have short campaigns, generally less than 2 months.
American campaigns are much longer.
Whoever is elected president in November 2008 will likely have declared their intention to run in early 2007.
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The Nomination Game
Competing for Delegates
Nomination game is an elimination contest
Goal is to win a majority of delegates’ support at the national party convention, or the supreme power within each of the parties
The convention meets every four years to nominate the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Conventions are but a formality today.
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The Nomination Game
Competing for Delegates
The Caucus Road
Caucus: meetings of state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national convention
Organized like a pyramid from local precincts to the state’s convention
A handful of states use a caucus—open to all voters who are registered with a party
The Iowa caucus is first and most important.
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The Nomination Game
Competing for Delegates
The Primary Road
Primary: elections in which voters in a state vote for a nominee (or delegates pledged to the nominee)
Began at turn of 20th century by progressive reformers
McGovern-Fraser Commission led to selection of delegates through primary elections
Most delegates are chosen through primaries.
Superdelegates: democratic leaders who automatically get a delegate slot
Frontloading is the tendency of states to hold primaries early to capitalize on media attention. New Hampshire is first.
Generally primaries serve as elimination contests.
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The Nomination Game
Competing for Delegates
Evaluating the Primary and Caucus System
Disproportionate attention to early ones
Prominent politicians do not run.
Money plays too big a role.
Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and unrepresentative; 20 percent vote in primaries
The system gives too much power to the media.
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The Nomination Game
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The Nomination Game
The Convention Send-off
National conventions once provided great drama, but now are a formality, which means less TV time.
Significant rallying point for parties
Key note speaker on first day of Convention
Party platform: statement of a party’s goals and policies for next four years
Debated on the second day of the Convention
Formal nomination of president and vice-president candidates on third and fourth days
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The Nomination Game
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The Campaign Game
The High-Tech Media Campaign
Direct mail used to generate support and money for the candidate
Get media attention through ad budget and “free” coverage
Emphasis on “marketing” a candidate
News stories focus more on the “horse race” than substantive policy issues
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The Campaign Game
Organizing the Campaign
Get a campaign manager
Get a fund-raiser and campaign counsel
Hire media and campaign consultants
Assemble staff and plan logistics
Get research staff, policy advisors, and pollsters
Get a good press secretary
Establish a website
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The Campaign Game
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Money and Campaigning
The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms
Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)
Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer campaign finance laws for federal elections
Created the Presidential Election Campaign Fund
Provided partial public financing for presidential primaries
Matching funds: Contributions of up to $250 are matched for candidates who meet conditions, such as limiting spending.
Provided full public financing for major party candidates in the general election
Required full disclosure and limited contributions
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Money and Campaigning
The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms
Soft Money: political contributions (not subject to contribution limits) earmarked for party-building expenses or generic party advertising
The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) banned soft money, increased amount of individual contributions, and limited “issue ads.”
527s: independent groups that seek to influence political process but are not subject to contribution restricts because they do not directly seek election of particular candidates
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Money and Campaigning
The Proliferation of PACs
Political Action Committees (PACs): created by law in 1974 to allow corporations, labor unions and other interest groups to donate money to campaigns; PACs are registered with and monitored by the FEC.
As of 2006 there were 4,217 PACs.
PACs contributed over $288.6 million to congressional candidates in 2004.
PACs donate to candidates who support their issue.
PACs do not “buy” candidates, but give to candidates who support them in the first place.
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Money and Campaigning
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Money and Campaigning
Are Campaigns Too Expensive?
Fundraising takes a lot of time.
Incumbents do worse when they spend more money because they need to spend to defeat quality challengers.
The doctrine of sufficiency suggests that candidates need just “enough” money to win, not necessarily “more.”
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19. The Impact of Campaigns
Campaigns have three effects on voters:
Reinforcement, Activation, Conversion
Several factors weaken campaigns’ impact on voters:
Selective perception: pay most attention to things we agree with
Party identification still influence voting behavior
Incumbents begin with sizeable advantage
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20. Understanding Nominations and Campaigns
Are Nominations and Campaigns Too Democratic?
Campaigns are open to almost everyone.
Campaigns consume much time and money.
Campaigns promote individualism in American politics.
Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased Scope of Government?
Candidates make numerous promises, especially to state and local interests.
Hard for politicians to promise to cut size of government
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Summary
Campaigns are media-oriented and expensive.
Delegates are selected through caucuses and primaries.
Money and contributions from PACs regulated by the FEC are essential to campaigns.
Campaigns reinforce perceptions but do not change minds.
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