National Party Conventions Flashcards
Party policies
At the national party convention, the party agrees on a party platform of policies that its presidential candidate will campaign on and pursue if they are elected. The platform committee forms policies based on hearings with citizens around the country. The platform is presented to delegates at the party convention who will often agree to the policies in the platform.
Presidential candidate
The presidential candidate is chosen by a roll-call vote where the delegates from each state announce the candidate they are voting for. This function has become less important because most delegates are committed to voting for a specific candidate based on the primary vote, rather than choosing for themselves who to support.
This means that the primary vote, not the party convention, chooses the presidential candidate. Candidates must win a majority of delegate votes.
Vice-presidential candidate
The national party convention used to choose the vice presidential candidate.
In recent campaigns, the president has chosen their vice presidential candidate before the national party convention and so the convention confirms the president’s choice. Presidents will choose a vice president candidate who will appeal to voters for various reasons such as political experience, gender, race and age.
Voter’s attention
Candidates can gain the attention of voters at the party convention through their televised acceptance speech at the convention where candidates will address all voters for the first time. Bill Clinton’s approval ratings increased by 16 percentage points after his speech in 1992.
Party unity
Parties use their conventions to appear united following the primary campaign.
The defeated primary candidates can publicly support the successful candidate.
Exciting members and voters
The candidates can enthuse the party’s core support, which encourages people to vote and campaign for them at the local level.
