Campaigns and Elections Flashcards
Would a campaign in France work just as well in America?
nope, you need to develop plans specific to the unique situations of American politics
What are the two crucial phases of elections?
getting nominated and getting elected
True or False: An organizational effort is the deciding factor in winning a nomination in a parliament in Europe
True, they vet you, decide whether to allow you to run and put your name on a list of candidates
THEY THEY THEY
True or False: An organizational effort is the deciding factor in winning a nomination in a state
False, it requires a LOT of individual effort
YOU decide to run
YOU raise money
YOU (and others) get signatures
YOU appeal to voters based on personality and stances on issues
ALL YOU
this may be why some think they have big egos
True or false: parties play no role in American politics
False, they do play a role, but parties are more labels not as much vote churning machines used to be far more involved
incumbent
the person already holding an elective office
coattails
the alleged tendency of candidates to win more votes in an election because of the presence at the top of the ticket of a better-known candidate, such as the president
Size Differences between Congressional and Presidential
President gets larger turnout, candidates work harder/spend more
Competitiveness Difference between Congressional and Presidential
Presidential more competitive
prez, generally winner gets less than 55% of the vote (in two party)
House, incumbent wins generally by over 60%
Off year turnout Congressional elections
Smaller percentage vote in off years, so appeal to partisan and motivated voters
helps contribute to incumbent victory
Can the president and members of congress do the same things for their constituents?
nope!
congress members take credit for everything that the gov provides the district
send letters to constituents( gov foots bill oc)
visit districts
pres does not get credit at local level/uses mass media
helps contribute to incumbent victory
Responsibility- prez vs. incumbent congress member
Congress member- “I have nothing to do with that mess in Washington, congress is not good, you guys know me as a person”
President- held responsible for eveverything in the nation ever
helps contribute to incumbent victory
Does it help congress members to be in the same part as the president?
people used to say yes, absolutely, coattails of pop prez (think FDR) will get you elected, now, generally little to no value in that
if people are angry at prez, gets taken out on members of their party
Are congressional elections independent of presidential ones?
In large part they are, though still linked by some financial things
What is the first task of someone who wants to become president and how do they do this?
They have to get mentioned as being of presidential caliber
How??
There may be a super secret “Great Mentioner” with mentioning power
OR
let reporters know off the record that you want to run
Give speeches (Ronald Reagan)
Be famous (John Glenn astronaut)
be identified with major legislation (Bill Bradley- Tax Reform Act of 1986)
Be the Governor of a Big State, especially NY (media)
What is step two in wanting to be president (after being mentioned)?
set a LOT of time to run, especially if you aren’t super well known
Reagan ran for like 6 years
most office holders have run while holding office
What is the profile for prez? What previous experience is generally required?
people like those with strong military backgrounds (war heroes) or governors rather than right from Congress
VP exp helps former members of Congress
PAC
political action committee
a committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations
Money (in relation to presidential campaign time)
it takes a really long time raise all of the money needed for a campaign and build up an organization
Organization in Presidential Campaigns
raising and accounting for money requires a staff of fund-raisers, lawyers, and accountants
need press secretary, travel scheduler, advertising specialist, direct-mail company, pollster, and volunteers from states (at a minimum those with primaries)
volunteers essential at a local level
position papers
info on stuff candidate should know about but doesn’t
rarely get used/read
Strategy and Themes in Presidential Campaigns
strategy depends on whether you are incumbent
incumbent- defend record
challenger- attacks incumbent
no incumbent- both candidates come up with plans, if your party is in office, take some blame for that
Tone of a presidential campaign
positive (build me up)
negative (attack the opponent)
Theme of a presidential campaign
a theme is a simple appealing idea that can be repeated over and over again Carter- Trust Reagan- COmpetence, morning in America Clincon we need change Bush- compassioante conservatism
timing of a presidential campaign
If unknown, put everything in early primaries and caucuses
try to hope for the best, hope for the best
already front-runner, either go for broke (and try to beat all opponents) or hold back reserves for the long game
Whom should you target in a Presidential campaign?
only a small percentage of voters change their from one election to the next
Have to figure out who is likely to change?
Are incumbents more liekly to get elected in the House????????
YES!!!!!!
What is the length of a senate term?
six years
What is the length of a representative term?
two years
True of False: The constitution says a lot about how representatives will be selected and who will vote
False
nothing about districts or who could vote
just said that had to live in the statesthat they are chosen from/ they need to have at least one per state
malapportionment
drawing the boundaries of legislativ districts so that they are unequal in population
gerrymandering
drawing the boundaries of legislative districts in bizarre or unusual shapes to favor one party
What are the four problems to solve in deciding who gets represented in the House?
Establishing the total size of the house
allocating seats in the House among states
Determining the size of Congressional districts within states
Determining the shapes of those districts
When was the House number decided upon? Has it remained constant
1911- decided 435 was big enough
EXCEPT had 437 at one point because Alaska and Hawaii entered in 1959
How often does reapportionment occur/how is it determined?
Constitution says every 10 years
System developed in 1929- complex, statistical, automatic
sophomore surge
an increase in the votes congressional candidates usually get when they first run for reelection
Have there been attempts to get away with malapportionment?
Yes, in 1964 the Supreme Court said it was illegal and that it should be as close as possible to one person, one vote
How do you win a party nomination?
Used to be: political parties nominated candidates
Now: get signatures to go to primaries and then the outcome of this is beyond the ability of political parties to influence
win by getting more primary votes by forming personal followings
Do most incumbents in Congressional elections win primaries?
Yes, overwhelmingly so
Parties have less say
What is the reason for the sophomore surge?
memebers of Congress use office to run PERSONAL, not party, campaigns
send out free(“franked”) mail
go visit district all the time
radio and tv broadcasts
distribute services to district
this makes constituents think highly of them
appeal to distrust of fed by promising to clean things up if reelected
run for Congress by running against it
Do congress memebres have lots of freedom in voting?
generally, they have more freedom in voting unless single-issue groups are actively working for something in their districts
What are some important effects of the local orientation of legislators?
Every member of Congress organizes his or her office to do everything possible for those at home
If your representative serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, state has a better chance of getting a new bridge or canal
If your representative is on the House Appropriations Committee, more likely to get a grant for water and sewage treatment programs
who said all politics is local?
Tip O’Neill
What two important effects does the way people get elected to Congress have?
Legislators are closely tied to local concerns
party leaders have a relatively weak influence over legislators
delegates vs. trustees
delegates- do what district wants
trustees- use best judgement on issues without regards to preferences of district
primary election
choose party’s nominee
general election
picks who will hold office
caucus
meeting of people where they vote on who they want to nominee to be