Lesson 12 Flashcards
Party’s official endorsement of a candidate for office
Nomination
What does a nominee try to do through campaign strategy?
Maximize..
1) money
2) media attention
3) momentum
What is a presidential campaign like? What has it led to?
- grueling affair that lasts as long as 18 months(Britain limits campaigns to 5 weeks)
- led some to speak of the permanent campaign
What is the goal of every presidential nominee?
-to win a majority of the delegates at the national party convention
What do individual state parties do from February to June of the presidential election year?
Choose their delegates(humans who go to convention and vote for candidate) to the national convention(late july/early august) through caucuses or primaries
What is the biggest primary day?
- Super Tuesday
- a lot of states vote on this day, usually in late Feb or early March
Earliest and most significant caucus
Iowa
What do people do in a caucus?
- Must show up in person to a designated site to pledge their support to a specific candidate
- can sometimes be done through a simple voice or show of hands
Most states hold_____
What does this mean?
- primaries
- voters go to the polls to select their candidate of choice
A primary can be open or closed. What are these?
Open:open to any eligible voter of any party
Closed: open only to voters of the party sponsoring the primary
First presidential primary
New Hampshire
Critics of caucuses and primaries argue…(5)
1) too much emphasis on early contests(New Hampshire and Iowa get to be the first states that weed out the candidates)
2) strung out over too many months: many qualified people decide not to run for president bc it is so all consuming
3) allows money to play too big of a role in the process
4) primary voters are a very select group(20% of eligible voters) and not representative of the larger voter population… primary voters have extreme views
5) gives media time to create misleading narratives about the candidates..promote style over substance
Defenders of the caucus and primary systems argue..(2)
1) they bring candidates into very close contact with everyday citizens
2) it is best to start in small states such as NH and IA where candidates can meet people face to face
Ways to possibly reform the selection of candidates for president(2)
1) have a national primary in which all states vote on same day
2) have a regional primary in which large blocs of states vote on the same day
What do the national conventions lack?
Drama and suspense they formerly displayed
What used to be common for national conventions?
Used to be common to not know which candidate would emerge as the nominee until the delegates voted…. This is no longer the case, it is almost always a foregone conclusion who the nominee will be
What are conventions like? What do they help do?
- highly scripted affairs
- though no longer suspenseful, the conventions help bring the party together around its nominee
Media Coverage of Campaigns
Focuses more on the “horse race” (who is winning and losing) than the issues
What do campaigns try to do?
- use a variety of media platforms to reach voters
- develop mailing lists that can be used to target certain groups of voters with certain messages
Any successful presidential campaign will have…. (7)
1) money
2) a skilled campaign manager
3) policy advisors to help the candidate develop stances on issues
4) a pollster
5) a press secretary
6) media consultant/strategist
7) good website
Presidential campaigns are giant ___________
What do they thrive on? What has this fed?
- money machines
- huge sums from donors, many of whom are anonymous
- politicians are bought and paid for by special interests
In 1974….
Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)….. FECA created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to enforce campaign finance laws
FECA created FEC. What else did it create? What does this mean? How do people feel about it?
A public financing option for presidential campaigns. This means candidates can qualify to use taxpayer money for their campaigns. Most reject this because it comes with the requirement that no private dollars be used. Candidates raise waaaaaay more money from private donars
What does the FECA require candidates to do?
Provide the FEC with lists of donors and the amount donated
What did the FECA limit?
The amount of money that can be donated to a presidential campaign
-individuals: $2,700
-politician action committee(PAC): $5,000
(Hard money)
How are. PACs formed?
They are formed when a business or interest group decides to donate money to candidates. PACs must register with the FAC
What has happened to the FECA since 1974?
The requirements have been so severely diluted that the amount of money being spent on presidential campaigns today is higher than ever (increased by over 500% in the last 10 years)
