Sides Chapter 11: State and Local Campaign Flashcards
How do the local election rules differ from other levels of government? (3 ways)
The use of nonpartisan ballots
At large elections
Off-cycle elections
In addition, the reality of local elections is shaped in large part by the small scale and limited power of local governments and by the fact that the media largely ignore local elections.
what are nonpartisan elections?
Elections in which candidates are listed on the ballot without any party affiliations. The reform was intended to promote the election of city officials more concerned with the practical challenges of policy making than with partisan politics.
What are off-cycle elections?
Meaning that they are not held concurrently with state or federal elections - another change instituted as part of Progressives’ broader attempts to reform city governments.
what are the two important consequences of off-cycle elections?
They have a significantly lower turnout and reduce the incumbency advantage in mayoral elections, perhaps because the smaller electorate in off-cycle elections is composed of politically engaged voters who know more about the candidates and rely less on simple cues.
why would they hold off-cycle elections?
Many cities hold off-cycle elections in an attempt to insulate local candidates from the events and issues that may be prominent in elections for higher levels of office.
what are the three realities of small scale democracy?
First, many local jurisdictions are small, and they bring in lower revenues and provide fewer services than larger jurisdictions. This limits the formal powers of elected officials and their ability to target services toward important constituencies, especially compared with federal officials who can target programs to seniors, farmers, and many other groups. Second, they get very little news coverage especially if the contest is taking place in a large media market. The media tends to focus on higher-level races that interest a broader segment of their viewers. A third reality is that incumbents accrue significant advantages. Compared with challengers, incumbents are better positioned to have personal contact with voters. They are more likely to get endorsements from prominent leaders and media outlets, and they are better able to raise money.
what are the consequences of term limits?
Term limits make elections more competitive by weakening incumbent’s advantages and increasing the number of open-seat races. But it can be more complicated. Term limits do not always make elections more competitive. What often happens is that the first-term office holders run for reelection without a serious challenger; serious challengers would rather wait until the incumbent leaves office at the end of the term limit than mount a long-shot challenge. It can be extra challenging because in legislative elections, districts may be dominated by one party due to underlying demographics or prior redistricting.
What determines a state or local party’s organizational strength?
First, urban, educated communities tend to foster better-developed party organizations. Such areas tend to be dense in local organizations that create social capital, which parties can tap. Most state parties consist of an alliance of official party organizations, unofficial party organizations led by individual party leaders, and various interest groups.
What are the coat-tail effects?
candidates for less-visible offices will “ride the coattails” of popular candidates of the same party who are on the ballot and thereby do better in the polls. Coattails may matter most for challengers and open-seat candidates, who do not have the advantage of incumbency.
what are the national factors in state and local campaigns?
Voters rarely split their tickets now and so statewide elections thus tend to produce leaders who match the partisanship of the state. This means that the state’s overall partisanship affects election outcomes more than the unique characteristics of candidates for statewide office do. Moreover, state and local candidates in the president’s party often do better when the president is more popular.
Another factor that may increase nationalization is the news media’s declining attention to state races, which parallels the decline in attention to local races.
what shape a candidate’s goal for winning office?
In particular, the size of jurisdiction, the powers of the office, the rules that govern election to that office, and the growing nationalization of state and local politics all interact to shape a candidate’s strategy.
why does the size of the jurisdiction matter?
In cities and districts with fewer people, candidates rely heavily on personal connections for campaigning. This is why they are nearly invisible. Candidates raise little money and their campaign organizations are composed of few friends and family. They take no pools, and rely on relatively cheap forms of communication, social media, billboards and the occasional radio ad. In more populated places, personal connections and groups still matter, but candidates must use mass advertising on television and radio to reach more voters. This means raising large sums of money, hiring consultants, etc.
why do the powers of the office matter when campaigning?
Small towns mainly oversee services such as fire and police protection, water, and sewage. While governors and state legislatures oversee a wider range of policy areas that involve more explicitly ideological debates including economic policy, Medicaid funding, state educational curricula, including economic policy.
Candidates in a smaller town will emphasize their managerial skills, while candidates for governor may express a larger vision for the state.
why do the rules matter in a campaign?
Candidate strategy should also be based on the rules that govern the election. At-large systems can disadvantage minority racial and ethnic groups while council wards can help with representation.
how does nationalization effect state and local campaigns?
it tends to make strategies in state and local races similar to those in federal races. Voting patterns in state and local races show that partisanship and ideology shape how citizens vote and who wins. One implication of this trend is its effect on who runs for office in the first place. It also has implications for the messages that candidates choose. In a more nationalized political environment, federal debates about issues such as immigration, education, and COVID filter down to states and communities, and state and local candidates debate the very issues in Congress. National politics can thus overshadow the distinctive political complexion and concerns of communities around the country.
