Section 1: The Evolution of
Campaigning Election campaign – a coordinated attempt to
persuade the electorate to support a specific candidate.
Elections are shifting from party centered to candidate centered.
Candidates now use polling, consultants, and the media to do what parties used to do
Parties are help to fund and provide some services to candidate centered campaigns
Candidates now have to campaign for the nomination before they campaign for office.
Section 2: Nominations
Nomination for Congress and State Offices Nominations are unique to the U.S. party system
Party members choose who will represent them in the general election
Primary Elections An election – just like November, but only one party on
the ballot (usually)
Most common nomination process
System differs from state to state
LOW turnout – those that do turnout are from the more…intense wing of the parties
Not usually much competition in primaries – especially for incumbents
Section 2: Nominations
Nomination for Congress and State Offices 4 Types of Primary Elections
Closed primaries require voters to be registered members of the party in order to participate
Open primaries allow anyone to participate in the election
Modified closed primaries which allow state parties to determine if unaffiliated voters can participate in the primary
Modified open primaries allow those who are unaffiliated to choose any party ballot and vote
Top 2 or Blanket Primary Everyone on the ballot, top two go on to general,
regardless of party
Louisiana, Washington, California
Section 2: Nominations
Nomination for President National Convention used to be where the candidate
for President and Vice President were selected by each party.
National Convention now is more of a pro-forma vote
Since 1960s candidate has been determined before the convention through the delegate selection process
Selecting Convention Delegates Presidential Primary to award delegates
Democrats – Proportional representation
Republicans – Mix of “winner-take-all” and proportional representation
Caucuses/Conventions to award delegates LocalCountyStateNational
At each level delegates are selected to represent a candidate and move to the next level
Meetings where candidates and platforms are discussed
Section 2: Nominations
Campaigning for the Nomination Our system is unique.
“Invisible Primary” begins LONG before even primaries
Iowa and New Hampshire – first to vote seen as very important IA narrows the field, NH vets the candidates
Move has been to “front load” the primary season – move primaries and caucuses earlier in the season to increase their importance in the process
Section 2: Nominations
Consequences of primary process: Without an incumbent, primaries in both parties are
contested
If there is an incumbent, he usually has no competition
Opposition party usually sees many candidates 2012 – 12 Republicans
Iowa and New Hampshire matter
Candidates favored by most party identifiers usually win their party’s nomination.
Candidates who win the nomination owe little to the national party.
Section 3: Elections
General election is held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Each time we elect all representatives from the
Minnesota and national House of Representatives as well as 1/3 of the Senators.
State officials, judges and local officials are on the ballot as well.
Every four years the following are selected (not necessarily in the same year): President
Minnesota state Senators
Minnesota statewide offices Governor
Attorney General
Auditor
Secretary of State
Section 3: Elections
Presidential Elections and the Electoral College:
National popular vote has no bearing on the winner
of the Presidential election.
President is elected by the Electoral College. How
does it work?
Each state is awarded a number of electors which is
equal to the number of Representatives from the state
plus the number of Senators from the state.
MN = 10 electors = 8 Representatives + 2 Senators
US = 538 electors = 435 Reps + 100 Senators + 3
for D.C.
Section 3: Elections
Who ever wins the popular vote in the state wins ALL
of that state’s electoral votes….except in Maine and
Nebraska
State awards two electoral votes to statewide
winner, and 1 electoral vote to whomever wins
the popular vote in each congressional district.
Federal election, president is chosen by the states
not the people.
Candidates must win a MAJORITY of electoral votes,
at least 270 in order to win the presidency.
If no candidate receives a majority, then the House
of Representatives selects the president. Each state
gets 1 vote.
Section 3: Elections
Before 1860 at least some states had their legislatures pick the
electors, rather than being chosen by popular vote of the state.
Why do we have the Electoral College?
Representation
How do we balance representation between big states and
small states in the presidential election?
Fear
The masses are asses. We must protect them from
themselves.
Knowledge
In the early days, how could candidates get around to inform
voters about themselves?
How could people learn about who was running?
Section 3: Elections
Is the Electoral College system a good thing or a
bad thing?
Pros:
Candidates must get support from states across
the nation to win. They cannot just carry one
region to win.
Since it is a winner-take-all system, small
numbers of voters can determine who wins the
state’s electoral vote.
Contributes to the stability of the nation –
promotes a two party system.
Gives states power in deciding the president
Saves us from nation-wide recounts
Section 3: Elections
Cons
Someone who did not receive the majority of the
popular vote could win the presidency.
Results do not always reflect the public will.
“Faithless” electors – electors may cast their vote
for whomever they choose.
Electoral College may reduce voter turnout
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Section 3: Elections
Broken Elections
1800 – Jefferson and Burr
Selected as Pres and Vice Pres, but tied.
Vote goes to the House, Jefferson selected
1824 – The Corrupt Bargain Quincy Adams v. Jackson
4 candidates – Jackson receives most electoral and popular votes
Henry Clay was Speaker of the House and came in 4th, dropped
when vote goes to the House
Clay supports Adams, who came in second, Adams wins.
1876 – Hayes (R) vs. Tilden (D)
Reconstruction – three states submitted conflicting voter totals
Tilden had won popular vote
Hayes is given the presidency with the understanding that he will
appoint a Democrat to his cabinet and remove troops from the
south, ending Reconstruction.
Section 3: Elections
Broken Elections
1888 – Cleveland (D) vs. Harrison (R)
Cleveland was running for re-election. Did not run a strong
campaign
Cleveland wins the popular vote, but not the electoral vote.
2000 – Bush (R) vs. Gore (D)
Controversy over Florida’s votes.
Lawsuits were filed and sent to the Supreme Court,
The Court ended the recount and awarded votes to Bush
Bush wins Electoral College, but not the popular vote.
2016 – Trump (R) vs. Clinton (D)
Trump wins Electoral College, but not the popular vote.
Trump 62,980,160 votes to Clinton 65,845,063
Section 3: Elections
Congressional Elections
If voters choose candidates all from one party they are said to vote a straight ticket.
If voters divide their vote between parties on a ballot, it is called voting a split ticket.
Congressional elections are “first-past-the-post” which is another way to say they are Single Member Districts selected by a plurality vote (which we talked about in chapter 7.)
Section 4: Campaigns
The Political Context
Campaigns are generally run between the incumbent, who already holds the office, and the challenger who is seeking to unseat the incumbent.
Incumbents have a natural advantage over challengers.
When there is no incumbent, it is called an open election
As a candidate one must consider:
Size of the district or state
Demographic make up of the district
Party preference of the district
Political issues facing the district
Section 4: Campaigns
Financing
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) 1971
First time full disclosure of campaign contributions and campaign expenditures is required by law.
Creation of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) 1974
Strengthens the FECA and establishes the executive department to oversee election financing and distribution of public finances to candidates
Allowed creation of Political Action Committees (PACs) Can collect money and contribute to campaigns for federal office
Limits on hard money – direct donations to candidates – were set at $1,000 per person per candidate in a given election.
Supreme Court kept limits on campaign contributions, but struck limits on what individuals and groups could spend to independently support candidates.
Supreme Court said wealthy candidates are not limited in the amount of money that they can spend on their own campaigns.
Buckley v. Valeo
Section 4: Campaigns
Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA) (McCain –
Feingold Act) 2002 (Took effect 2004)
Regulated money in campaigns
Raised limits of hard money to $2,000 per candidate, per
election during a two-year cycle. (Primary, general, runoff)
$5,000 per year to state parties or political committees
$20,000 to national party committees
Overall limit of $95,000 over a two year cycle.
$5,000 from PACs to a campaign
Banned large soft-money donations to national parties and
“issue ads” that named specific candidates in run-up to election
Allowed for the creation of 527 committees
Tax exempt issue advocacy groups that can spend as much as they
want on media advertising as long as it is not explicitly for or against a
specific candidate.
Section 4: Campaigns
FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life – 2007 Ban on ads before election unconstitutional
Leads to the end of 527 committees in favor of 501(c)4 social
welfare organizations because they don’t have to report donors.
Citizens United v. FEC – 2010
Allows corporations, unions and trade organizations to
directly advocate for candidates.
Supreme Court 5-4 decision along ideological lines
Ruled that corporate funding of independent political
broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited.
Political speech cannot be denied because of the
speaker’s corporate identity.
Section 4: Campaigns
SpeechNow.org v. FEC – 2010
Creation of “independent expenditures only political
committees” or “Super PACs”
If they do not give money to candidates they can spend
unlimited amounts on campaigns.
Do not need to disclose donations from nonprofit groups
Not supposed to “coordinate” with campaigns – but many
have connections to the campaigns they support.
“Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow”
Section 4: Campaigns
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission - 2014
Supreme Court 5-4 decision along ideological lines
Limit on contributions from individuals to candidates is
kept at $2,600.
Limits on the overall limits that an individual can spend
on candidates and political parties are
unconstitutional.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/02/us/polit
ics/supreme-court-ruling-campaign-finance.html
Section 4: Campaigns
Public Financing Presidential Campaigns
If a candidate raises at least $5,000 (in private donations
under $250 each) in 20 or more states, then they are
eligible for public financing.
Kerry, Bush, and Obama all refused public funding
during the primary elections.
Kerry and Bush did accept public financing limits during
the general election. Trump, Romney, Obama and
Clinton did not.
By accepting public monies they candidates are limited
to spending $37.3 million during the primaries and $74.6
during the general elections.
Candidates have NO limits on the amount they can
spend if they do not accept public funds.
Section 4: Campaigns
Future Trends in Campaign Finance
Public financing is less of a thing
Two major fundraising methods have made
private financing easier:
“Super Bundlers”
Professional fundraisers who collect
funds from individuals and corporations
for Candidates, PACs and Super PACs
The Internet
Section 4: Campaigns
Strategies and Tactics
Party Centered – relies on party identification solely. Works best when voters have little political knowledge
Issue Oriented – candidate take a stand on issues and hope for support from groups that agree with their positions.
Candidate-Oriented – candidate relies on their personal qualities
Issue and Candidate oriented strategies rely heavily on polling and political consultants
Making the News Candidates rely on the news to get free advertising.
Incumbents have a greater advantage due to the fact that they are already in office.
Name recognition is key in elections, and news helps get the name out, for free.
News often reports on political advertisements which increases that scope and affect of the paid for ad.
Section 4: Campaigns
Political Advertisements
First goal is name recognition
Other goals include: showing the positives of the candidates or pointing out the negatives of the opponents
Internet
Internet has increased the effectiveness of campaigns by:
Reducing costs
Increasing visibility
Increasing forums for getting out their message
Drawing in those who may not have been involved previously
Section 5: Explaining Voter Choice
Long-Term forces Party Identification
Party base almost completely supports their candidate
Independents break for one candidate or the other and determine the winner.
Short-Term forces Candidate’s personal characteristics
Most important to those who are not well informed
Candidate’s policy positions Less important than party identification or personal
characteristics Current state of state/nation
Campaigns are focusing more on swing states and districts. Focusing expenditures at the local, rather than national level.
Section 5: Explaining Voter Choice
Evaluating the Voting Choice Democratic theory states that voters should choose a
candidate based on their past performance and their proposed policies
Studies show candidate characteristics and party are what’s most important to voters
More alignment between party and ideological identification – makes party based voting more logical.
Campaign Effects Difficult to tease out
The Television Campaign TV news doesn’t give candidates much of a chance to talk,
so they focus on other free media options, such as entertainment shows.
Ads are the most important parts of the campaign.
Media is focused in swing states.
The Debates Usually 3 and 1 VP Debate
Can have a significant influence on the election
Section 6: Campaigns,
Elections and Parties
Parties and the Majoritarian Model
Parties make government aware of and responsive to public
opinion.
Party platform much less important outside of the
presidential election
Parties and the Pluralist Model
Parties function as two giant interest groups
Focus is not on running government, but electing candidates
Decentralized nature of election system allows for interest
groups to influence campaigns at a variety of levels.