3.2.1.5 The electoral process and direct democracy

Question 1

1960 JFK election - example of being telegenic

Answer 1

people who watched it on tv thought JFK won but those who listened to it on radio thought that Nixon won. JFK was younger better looking and Nixon had a 40-degree fever and was sweaty. In the end, JFK won the election by 100,000 votes

Question 2

what was an influencing factor in Obamas 2008 campaign?

Answer 2

his large social media platform

Question 3

relevant policies in 2016

Answer 3

Trump lacked sound and relevant policies, therefore raisng the question of whether other factors are more influnecial in the success of a President

Question 4

Which media outlets should an individulals hope to appear in, if they want to be a serious candidate

Answer 4

Washington Post and The New York Times, or there might be a positive article in Time magazine.

Question 5

Who was the first candidate to announce his candidacy in 2016

Answer 5

Senator Ted Cruz who made it on the 23rd March 2015, 10 months before the primaries. By the end of July 2015, 17 candidates had also announced running.

Question 6

How far is trump ahead of opinion polls in 2023 despite not attending televised party debates

Answer 6

40 points

Question 7

Televised debates 2011

Answer 7

Governor Rick Perry of Texas had a much-publicised memory loss when he could not recall the three federal executive departments he would close if elected president. Just over two months later, Perry ended his 2012 presidential bid, having finished sixth in the New Hampshire primary with less than 1% of the vote – demonstrates the importance of debates as this damaged Perry’s image.

Question 8

Trump campaign finance 2016

Answer 8

Donald Trump, came in fifth, but one needs to be aware that by this stage in the campaign, Trump had donated just short of $18 million of his own money to his campaign which when added to the $25.5 million he had raised put him third in the money-raising table.

Question 9

campaign finance 2016

Answer 9

Ben Carson’s near $58 million and Jeb Bush’s $33.5 million won them not a single primary. Indeed, Bush failed to make it past the third week of the primaries before ending his campaign.

Question 10

Only exception to front tunner in republican invisible primary

Answer 10

2008 - Rudy Giuliani - John McCain

Question 11

Quote from Mitt Romney in 2012

Answer 11

once he’d won the candidacy, the republican party needed to change their strategy and policies to get the votes of the general electorate, presents candidates as non-genuine.

Question 12

Invisible primary data 2020 - republicans

Answer 12

Clear that Trump would be candidate he was officially endorsed by the Republican endorsed by the Republican National committee in Jan 2019. Trump has essentially been campaigning since 2016 with his frequent rallies.

Question 13

Invisible primary data 2020 - Democrats

Answer 13

Largest ever field – 29 candidates. The key battle was between the moderate and progressive sides of the party mainly represented by Biden and Sanders. Kamala Harris performed well in the early televised debates.

Question 14

Democrat Primary data 2016

Answer 14

Bernie Sanders won 68% in the caucuses in Kansas and 82% in Alaska. In all the caucuses, Sanders averaged 66% of the vote to Clinton’s 33%.

Question 15

Sanders vs Clinton

Answer 15

Bernie Sanders won 68% in the caucuses in Kansas and 82% in Alaska. In all the caucuses, Sanders averaged 66% of the vote to Clinton’s 33%.

Question 16

how many states held their primary on super tuesday in 2016?

Answer 16

11

Question 17

the increase in primaries being held in march

Answer 17

The number of states holding their primaries or caucuses before the end of March increased from just 11 in 1980 to 42 in 2008, and those 42 states included the eight largest states. California, for example, has moved from early June (1980) to early February (2008).

Question 18

Delegates 2008

Answer 18

By 5 February 2008, 55% of the delegates to the Democratic and Republican conventions had already been chosen.

Question 19

2020 primary stats

Answer 19

31 states had held their primary by the end of march.
16 states held their primaries on March 3 including Texas.

Question 20

2012 wisconsin open primary

Answer 20

In the 2012 Wisconsin Republican open primary, 11% of voters said they were Democrats. While Mitt Romney won the primary overall with 44% of the vote to 37% for Rick Santorum, among Democrats Santorum beat Romney by 20 percentage points.

Question 21

Arizona vs New Hampshire republican party primary 2016

Answer 21

Donald Trump received all 58 delegates to the party’s national convention (only had 45.9% of the vote) because it was a winner-take-all contest. But in winning the New Hampshire primary - a proportional primary - Trump won just 11 delegates, with the remaining 12 delegate shared among four other candidates.

Question 22

How much money did Obama raise after Iowa 2008

Answer 22

50 million

Question 23

End of feburary 2008

Answer 23

By the end of February Obama now had a 51-39% lead over Hilary Clinton.

Question 24

Jeb Bush 2016

Answer 24

The day after coming in fourth with just 7% of the vote in the Republican South Carolina primary in 2016, Jeb Bush withdrew from the race.

Question 25

2020 Iowa democrat

Answer 25

Biden only secured 15% of the vote.

Question 26

2020 New Hampshire democrat

Answer 26

Biden secured 8.4% of the vote.

Question 27

2020 South Carolina democrat

Answer 27

Biden secured 49% of the vote

Question 28

2024 presidential primaries

Answer 28

Iowa: Jan 15th – first
New Hampshire: Jan 23rd
Super Tuesday: March 5th
Florida: March 19th

Question 29

What percentage of the vote do super delegates have?

Answer 29

16%

Question 30

which state didnt hold a primary when incumbent was running

Answer 30

Virginia 2012

Question 31

Obama primary vote 2012

Answer 31

90%

Question 32

which incumbent weren’s re-elected

Answer 32

Ford, 1976, 53% of primary vote, lost election.

Question 33

Turnout in primaries

Answer 33

In general turnout in the primaries has been around 10%, there was an increase in 2008, specifically democrats due to Obama (19.5% turnout). And the republican primaries turnout increased in 2016 (14.8%).