2016 Campaign Flashcards
Trump Campaign Similarities
His general election fundraising was more conventional - he relied heavily on a joint fundraising effort with the RNC & benefited from Super PACs
Trump Campaign Differences
1) the ability to exploit free media coverage,
2) his limited fundraising in the nomination phase, and
3) his claims that his opponents in both the nomination and general election phases of the contest were corrupted by their donors
Trump won the election even though Clinton…
spent much more than him signaling that money paid a less important role than in previous elections
His ability to dominate and control the media helped this happen
Trump announced the re-election campaign
the day after he took office, and his campaign commenced fundraising soon thereafter - the earliest a sitting president has announced a reelection bid
He was different from previous presidents in that
1) he had no political experience
2) his personal style included personal attacks, seemingly unscripted speeches, and his promise to self-fund his campaign
3) He attacked former republican standard-bearers and the most recent republican candidate risking alienating major donors
4) He shunned Super PACs
Twitter President
used social media more than any other past president (FB was also a huge part of his campaign)
Nearly all presidential candidates had one or more
supportive independent-expenditure-only committees (Super PACs) that were clearly identified as supporting a particular candidate but met the minimum legal requirements for being independent of the candidate
During the nomination battle in both parties
Super PACs were part of the debate and also substantial spenders in the republican contest
Much of how the 2016 election was financed was similar to the financing of other recent presidential elections
individuals remained the most important source of funding to candidates, party committees, PACs, and Super PACs
The electoral college winner
didn’t win the popular vote
For the first time, a major party nominated a candidate with
no previous government or military experience, and, as noted, the gap in spending between the two party standard-bearers was unprecedented
Money played a ____ role in the 2016 election
lesser
Critiques of super PACs and individual donations were _____ in this election vs other ones
higher
Individuals no longer had
aggregate limits on how much they could donate to candidates, party committees, or PACs
Drop in the amount given by individuals to republicans
until 2016, republican party committees raised more from individual donors than did Democratic Party committees
Most of the increase in individual dollars contributed in 2016 came from
the money individuals gave to Super PACs
Individual expenditures were an even _____ part of the financing of 2016 than they were in 2012 and other elections
larger
Super PACs spent ____ in congressional contests in 2016 than previously
more
Success with small-donor fundraising was
unprecedented (especially with Sanders)
Individual contributions to senate and house candidates ____ in 2016 while individual contributions to presidential candidates _____
dropped; rose
2016 election was marked by a proliferation of groups actively spending to influence the election outcome
presidential candidates used more modes of fundraising during the early stages of the contest
Presidential candidates of both parties used outside groups _______ than in 2012 and 2014
far more
There was an expansion of
candidate-specific tax-exempt non-profit groups
