The Invisible primary Flashcards
What is the invisible primary
Occurs when candidates announce their candidacy and before voting begins at primaries
What are some extra constitutional requirements for becoming president?
Political experience, money raising skills, being media savvy
Why does having political experience matter
Every president since jfk has either been a state governor, senator or representative.
Good name recognition= more legitimacy in the eyes of voters
Why does money raising matter
Other than trump, every candidate who has the most money has won the president (since Reagan’s victory over carter).
Clinton out raised Bernie by $28 mil and won
Why doe a wing media savvy matter
In 2016, trump’s ability to Dom. The news cycle and make controversial speeches caught the attention of voters, and entrenched his vision in their heads
How do you win the invisible primary?
Endorsements form senior party figures
Fundraising
Why is endorsements from senior party figures important
W/ exception of 2016, every republican candidate who has received the most support from party establishment has gone on to win primary
Arguably because voters trust judgement of elected offices who might have worked alongside cand’s (Obama surge in pop. W/65+ after ted Kennedy endorsement)
What puts into question importance of endorsements
While Clinton was rallied behind by the party establishment like no one ever, receiving the most endorsements from senators/gov’s rep’s in party’s history, trump got none
Why is fundraising important?
It is essential for a good campaign structure. In 2016, Clinton outraised sander by $28 mil and became nominee.
What puts into question importance of fundraising?
In 2016, whereas Jeb Bush was able to spend $82 mil on advertising, trump only raised $10 mil and still won nomination
What event shows just how long the invisible primary really is
In January 2014, a new SuperPAC called ‘Ready for Hillary’ was created, announcing that it had formed to build support for the presidential election campaign of Hillary Clinton, before she even announced to run
How large scale was “ready for Hillary”
the organisation already had “over one million supporters, over one million email addresses collected, and over 25,000 grassroots donors”.
Why is “ready for Hillary” significant
in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC (2010), and the increasing influence of SuperPACs, candidates that want to stand a realistic chance of winning their party’s nomination must have large scale support even before the ‘invisible primary’ begins.
The increasing length of the campaign process means that candidates need unprecedented levels of financial and human resources to make even their entrance into the primaries seem at all realistic.
