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The Nomination Game LO 9. 1 • Nomination • The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. • Success in the nomination game requires momentum, money, and media attention. • Campaign Strategy • Master game plan that guides a candidate’s electoral campaign. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Nomination Game LO 9. 1 • Deciding to Run • A presidential candidacy in the United States needs to be either announced or an “open secret” for at least a year before the election. • Barack Obama made clear his intention to run for president in January 2007. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Nomination Game LO 9. 1 • Competing for Delegates • National Party Convention – The supreme power within each party. • Mc. Govern-Fraser Commission – In response to demands for reform by minority groups and others seeking better representation. • Super-delegates – Party leaders automatically get delegate slot at national party convention. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 1 To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

LO 9. 1 The Nomination Game • Competing for Delegates • Caucus - A system for selecting convention delegates used in about a dozen mostly rural states in which voters must show up at a set time and attend an open meeting to express their presidential preference. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 1 The Nomination Game • Competing for Delegates (cont. ) • Presidential primaries are elections in which a state’s voters go to the polls to express their preference for a party’s nominee for president. • Frontloading – Recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar to capitalize on media attention. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 1 The Nomination Game • Competing for Delegates (cont. ) • Evaluating the Primary and Caucus System – Disproportionate attention goes to early ones; prominent politicians do not run; money plays too big a role; participation is low and unrepresentative; and too much power goes to the media. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 1 The Nomination Game • The Convention Send-Off • Rallying point for parties. • Key note speaker on first day of Convention. • Party platform (2 nd day) – Goals and policies for next 4 years. • Formal nomination of president and vicepresident candidates on third and fourth days. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 2 The Campaign Game • The High-Tech Media Campaign • Direct mail used to generate support and money for candidate. • Get media attention through ad budget and free news coverage. • The emphasis is on marketing a candidate because news stories focus more on the horse race than substantive policy issues. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 2 The Campaign Game • Organizing the Campaign • Get a campaign manager, a fund-raiser, and a campaign counsel. • Hire media and campaign consultants. • Assemble staff, plan logistics, and get research staff, policy advisors, pollsters, and a good press secretary. • Establish a website. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 3 Money and Campaigning • The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms • Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 created Federal Election Commission; provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections; limited presidential campaign spending; required disclosure; and limited contributions. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 3 Money and Campaigning • The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms (cont. ) • Soft Money – Contributions for party building expenses or generic party advertising not subject to contribution limits. • Mc. Cain-Feingold Act (2002) bans soft money, increased amount of individual contributions, and limited issue ads. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 3 Money and Campaigning • The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms (cont. ) • 527 Groups – Independent groups seek to influence the political process but are not subject to contribution limits because they do not directly seek election of particular candidates. • The name 527 Groups comes from Section 527 of the federal tax code by which they are governed. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Opposition to Campaign Finance Reform • Buckley v. Valeo, 1976, the Supreme Court struck down portions of FECA as violation of free speech. • Citizens United v Federal Election Commission, 2010 the Court struck down parts of Mc. Cain-Feingold that imposed limits on corporate spending for or against a candidate in periods before primary and general elections. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Money and Campaigning LO 9. 3 • The Proliferation of PACs • Political Action Committees are funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. • A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a political action committee (PAC) and register it with the Federal Election Commission. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 9. 3 Money and Campaigning • The Proliferation of PACs (cont. ) • There were 4, 611 PACs during the 2007– 2008 election cycle, which contributed $412. 8 million to House and Senate candidates. • PACs donate to candidates who support their issue. • PACs do not buy candidates, but give to candidates who support them in the first place. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

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LO 9. 3 Money and Campaigning • Are Campaigns Too Expensive? • Center for Responsive Politics estimated in 2008 that the contests for the presidency and Congress cost over $5 billion. • More congressional incumbents spend, the worse they do. • Doctrine of sufficiency – Spend enough money to get a message across to compete effectively. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Impact of Campaigns • Campaigns have three effects on voters. • Reinforcement – Reinforce voters’ preferences for candidates. • Activation – Voters contribute money or ring doorbells. • Conversion – Convert, changing voters’ minds. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Impact of Campaigns LO 9. 4 • Some factors tend to weaken campaigns’ impact on voters. • Selective perception – Most people pay attention to things they agree with and interpret events according to predispositions. • Party identification influence voting behavior. • Incumbents – Advantage of name recognition and a track record. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Understanding Nominations and Campaigns LO 9. 5 • Are Nominations and Campaigns Too Democratic? • Campaigns are open to almost everyone. • Campaigns consume much time and money. • Campaigns promote individualism in American politics. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Understanding Nominations and Campaigns LO 9. 5 • Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased Scope of Government? • Candidates make numerous promises, especially to state and local interests. • Hard for politicians to promise to cut size of government. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Last Battle: The Electoral College • Electoral College • A unique American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors. • Less populated states are overrepresented. • Winner-take-all concentrates campaigns on close states. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Last Battle: The Electoral College LO 10. 5 • How Electoral College Works • Electoral votes for each state equals its members in Congress. • 48 states use winner-take-all system (not Maine and Nebraska). • State electors vote in December following the November election. • January – Congress counts votes. • House of Representatives picks president if no majority vote. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 10. 5 To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

The Last Battle: The Electoral College LO 10. 5 • Important Electoral College • The less populated states are overrepresented because states get 2 electors for the senators regardless of population. • Winner-take-all means candidates will focus on winning the states where the polls show that there appears to be a close contest. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman