1. AP Government & Politics
Nominations
&
Campaigns
AP Government & Politics
Sheryl Berkley

2. Presidential Selection
Stage 1: Caucuses & Primaries The Battle for the Party Faithful
Stage 2: Nominating Conventions “Glorified Infomercials?”
Stage 3: General Election
The Fight for the Center
Stage 4: Electoral College
Power to the People?

3. Presidential Nominating Conventions: The Nuts & Bolts

4. The Nomination Game
Nomination – The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party.
Success in the nomination game requires momentum, money, and media attention.
Campaign strategy the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign
Manipulating momentum, money and media to achieve the nomination.

5. Deciding to Run
“For four years, that’s all I did. I mean, all I did. That’s all you think about. That’s all you talk about…That’s your leisure. That’s your luxury…I told someone. The question is not whether I can get elected . The question is whether I can be elected and not be nuts when I get there”

6. Nomination Game The nomination is a competition for delegates.
The one with the most wins!
It 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.

7. Nominating Conventions
George W. and Laura Bush at the Republican Convention
An assembly held by political parties every four years
Usually held in late summer before the general election in November
The Democratic and Republican parties hold nominating conventions as do third parties [ex: Green Party, Libertarian Party]

8. Purposes of Nominating Conventions
Delegates at the convention adopt a party platform.
Delegates to the convention elect that party’s nominees for President and Vice-president.

9. Delegate - A voting representative to the party nominating convention
Who are Delegates?
Delegate - A voting representative to the party nominating convention

10. Winner-take-all System
Delegate Selection
Proportional System
Primary system used by the Democratic Party
Candidates are allocated the same percentage of a state’s delegates as they received in popular votes
Pro’s & con’s of the proportional system?
Winner-take-all System
System used in most Republican primaries
The winner of the popular vote in that state receives all that state’s delegates
Pro’s & con’s of the winner-take-all system?

11. Pledged delegates count during the 2008 Democratic primaries
Each state allotted certain number of delegates who vote at the party’s convention
Pledged delegates are chosen at state & local level
Pledged delegates are required to cast a vote at the convention based on the results of the primary or caucus in their state
Pledged delegates count during the 2008 Democratic primaries

13. Superdelegates
Members of the Democratic Party establishment who serve as unpledged delegates at the party convention
Include members of Congress, governors, and members of the C.
They are free to vote for any candidate at the convention

14. The Nomination Game Country began with caucus and turned to primaries.
1 or 2 party bosses would run show.
Ex: Mayor Daly (Chicago) & Governor Connally (Texas) - Controlled who went to convention and how they voted. Met in back rooms to cut deals and for coalitions.
Today all registered voters participate in a caucus.
Mayor Daley
Governor Connally

15. The Nomination Game
Caucus – a meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention.
Organized like a pyramid.

16. Nomination Game How does a caucus work?
Number of delegates is based on:
Republican party – winner take all system
Democratic party – proportional to the number of votes received in the state primary or caucus
# of delegates sent to party convention is dictated by party rules
Party determines # through formula (state population, # of elected officials, state’s past support of party candidates)
Ex: Iowa Caucus (Not all caucuses work the same)
Republican caucus – people walk in discuss and usually vote in a secret ballot
Democratic caucus
Supporters for each candidate make their case
Supporters gather in groups to support candidate / Undecided in separate group
Viable candidate must have a % of caucus participants
Candidates receive # of delegates based on formula.

17. The Nomination Game
Most people go to the polls, vote for a candidate and then delegates are pledged.
Primaries were promoted in the turn of the century to reduce power from party bosses.
Mayor Daley in Chicago had police clash with demonstrators against the war.
1968 DNC did not represent minorities, women, youth and others well.
After riots and corrupt back room deals Primaries increased and …

18. Nomination Game
McGovern-Fraser Commission was created to investigate process and practices at 1968 DNC.
Results:
Party leaders could not hand pick convention delegates in secret.
Delegate selection procedure must be open so that a college student = party leader.
Many states decided it would be easier to hold a primary.
Republican delegate selection also changed due to state laws apply to both parties.

19. Nomination Game
Democratic Party became troubled over the non-role for party leaders so the superdelegate was created.
In % of delegate slots were for officeholders and party officials.
Idea – this created “peer review” guaranteeing participation of those familiar with candidates.
By John Trever, The Albuquerque Journal 03/30/

20. The Nomination Game

21. The Nomination Game First Primaries – Iowa and New Hampshire
Important for image, not delegates.
First test of candidates “vote getting” ability
Both Primaries become large media events in small towns.
In the past it was considered advantageous to hold primaries late.
Changed since states found their delegates irrelevant as decision was finalized.
Today states have moved primaries earlier to capitalize on media attention. (Frontloading)
Ex: Problems with Michigan moving date in 2008.

22. The Nomination Game Competing for Delegates
Evaluating the Primary and Caucus System
Disproportionate attention to early ones
Generate momentum and money
Prominent politicians do not run.
Hard to balance demands of high public office with presidential campaign.
Money plays too big a role.
Momentum means raising more than your opponent.
Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and unrepresentative; 20 percent vote in primaries & 5 percent in a caucus state.
Voters tend to be older and more affluent not representative
The system gives too much power to the media.
Media replaced party bosses, gives candidate momentum by labeling winner/loser.

23. The Convention Send-Off
Until the advent of television conventions provided great drama.
Spectacular speeches, dark-horse candidates and many ballots held in order to obtain nomination.
It is not possible for one person to shift whole blocks of votes at the last minute.
Media attention had decreased until the election of Barack Obama.

24. The Nomination Game

25. What’s a Party Platform?
Party Platform - a statement of principles and objectives a political party and a candidate supports in order to win the general election.
Plank - Individual topics in a party’s platform (ex: abortion, war in Iraq)
Cartoon satirizing the 1896 Democratic Party Platform

26. 2004 Platform Themes Democratic Party:
“Strong at Home, Respected in the World”
Republican Party:
“A Safer World and a More Hopeful America”
How are these themes similar?
Different?

27. Organization of Convention
Day 1 – Keynote speech
Day 2 – Focus on party platform
In past, contest over platforms were tests of candidates’ strengths before actual nomination.
Ex: anti-abortion plank in republican party do not force confrontation.
Day 3 – Formal nomination of president
Supporting speeches by supporters
States announce votes at end of evening and the nomination becomes official.
Day 4 – Vice-president nominee chosen by roll call vote and speech presented.
Final Day???????

28. Convention Speeches: The Keynote Address
Senator Barrack Obama gives the DNC Keynote Address
Democrat Zell Miller delivers the RNC Keynote Address
The speech given at the convention that embodies that party’s core message
Why do you think Democrats choose Barrack Obama and Republicans Zell Miller to deliver the 2004 Keynote Addresses?

29. Convention Speeches: The Acceptance Address
1960 presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon deliver their Acceptance Addresses at their party’s national convention
The speech given at the final day of the convention in which the winning candidate formally accepts the party’s nomination for president
The Acceptance Address is always televised by the major networks

30. 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York City
Critics say that party nominating conventions have become no more than infomercials.
What do you think?

31. The Campaign Game
Political campaigns have limited resources of time, money and energy to attain their political objectives.

32. Campaign Game
First half of twentieth century campaigns were based out of trains.
People would come from miles to hear a candidates speech.
Today’s campaigns are truly mass media campaigns.
Grass roots level candidates distribute cd’s/videos and most recently entire public directly views candidate speaking on website.
Internet changes:
1996 suggestion by Bob Dole to view website caused it to crash.
2004 Howard Dean was the first presidential nominee to use the internet for cash donations. John Kerry copied Dean’s success once he won 2004 nomination.

33. Campaign Game
Direct mail – A high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate involving sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.
Richard Viguerie pioneered mass mailing lists by compiling a list of people who gave to conservative causes.
Candidates are able to pick from a list of issues (Homeless, Israel, Abortion) and send direct mail.
$1 Billion is given a year through direct mail.

34. Campaign Game Goal of media is attention.
Media coverage determined by 2 factors.
How candidates use advertising budget. (Easy)
Controls logistical decisions Ex: Breakfast to announcing policy proposal.
First ½ of 20th Century money went to railroads. Today money goes to television. (About ½ of budget)
“Free” attention received as news makers. (Difficult)

35. Campaign Game Emphasis on “marketing the candidate”
Viewers learned more about candidates stance on issues from watching ads than TV.
TV focuses on where the candidate went, size of crowds and what they ate. (Horse Race vs. Issues)
Ads focus on policy by 6 to 1 versus image.
Candidates cannot control news coverage even though they have “canned” news releases.

36. The Campaign Game

37. Campaign Game Organizing the Campaign Get a campaign manager
Sets daily tone and daily organizational issues.
Get a fund-raiser and campaign counsel
Needed to function
Hire media and campaign consultants
Plan ad campaign – From bumper stickers to TV airtime
Assemble staff and plan logistics
People who coordinate volunteers who ring bells and lick envelopes.
Hire professionals to schedule and organize events.
Get research staff, policy advisors, and pollsters
Candidates unable to answer complex questions. Hire economists, healthcare professionals etc…
Get a good press secretary
Release information to press on time.
Hire a pollster
Professional firms to find out public opinion on issues and candidates personality.
Establish a website
To establish candidates overall message.

38. Money and Campaigning “Money is the mother’s milk of politics”
1974 Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act due to scandals and illegal campaign contributions and growth of media.

39. Money and Campaigning Created Federal Election Commission
Bipartisan, 6 people who enforce compliance with laws.
Created Presidential Election Campaign Fund.
Gives money from fund to qualified presidential candidates.
Money raised by check-off box on tax returns. $3 & about 11% of Americans contribute.

40. Money and Campaigning
Provided partial public financing for presidential primaries.
Raise $5,000 on own in 20 states are able to receive $250 in matching funds. Must agree to follow rules to receive money.
Provided full public financing for major party candidates in general election.
Each party nominee receives fixed amount of money to cover campaign expenses.
Point of discussion due to Obama not taking funds and McCain taking after they had agreed. “Supposedly”

41. Money and Campaigning Required full disclosure Limited contributions
Acceptance of federal funding or not candidates must file reports listing who contributed and how money spent.
Limited contributions
Nixon campaign some individuals had contributed $1 million. Congress upset and set limit at $1,000. This act changed it to $2,000 and changes with inflation. (McCain-Feingold Act created change)

42. Money and Campaigning
Buckley v. Valeo challenged Federal Election Campaign Act in 1776.
Spending money to influence an election is protected by free speech.
Court also decided candidates may give unlimited funds to their own campaigns.
Ross Perot took advantage of this act.

43. 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 (1979)
½ Billion dollars raised in 2000.
The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) banned soft money, increased amount of individual contributions, and limited “issue ads” within 60 days of elections.
527s: independent groups that seek to influence political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek election of particular candidates.
Ex: MoveOn.org (Anti Bush) Swift Boat Veterans (Anti Kerry)

44. 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.

45. Money and Campaigning

46. 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.”

47. 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