Campaigns & Elections

Chapter 9

Nomination is naming CANDIDATES for public office.

What must one do to be nominated?◦ Meet requirements for the office◦ Assemble a staff◦ Establish a campaign strategy◦ Campaign for the party’s nomination

Candidate Nomination

Each public office has specific requirements.

Candidate Nomination

U.S. Senate – must be at least 30 years old and have lived in the state you will represent for at least 9 years.

U.S. House of Representatives – must be at least 25 years old and a resident of the state you’ll represent for at least 7 years.

Candidate Nomination

Incumbent – the current office holder.

Challenger – a person running for an office currently held by someone else.

Candidate Nomination

◦Unpaid, trusted senior advisors◦Citizen volunteers◦Consultants – paid professionals

People who help in a campaign (STAFF)

Develop a campaign strategy Choose a campaign theme Find a finance chairperson to raise & spend

money Get support of local party members Get supporters to vote

What campaign workers do

A direct primary is a preliminary election held to select candidates and/or delegates to party conventions.

Direct Primary

Only people who have officially registered as members of one party may vote in a closed primary for their designated party.

Twenty-six states and D.C. use closed primaries.

Closed Primary

No party membership is required to participate.

Voters must choose in which party’s primary they will cast their votes.

Twenty-four states use this method, including TEXAS.

(May allow partisans to “cross-party vote” to influence the outcome of a primary election.)

Open Primary

An open primary in which all candidates from all parties are listed. This type of primary has been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Blanket Primary

General Election - an election held to fill an elective office.

Typically held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.

General Election

A campaign shows how a candidate handles the kind of stress he/she may face in office.

Weeks of travel, speech-making, and scrutiny from the media enable voters to see how well the candidate withstands pressure and may bring out the true nature of a candidate’s character.

The Campaign Trail

Favor incumbents! From 1960-2000

◦ An average of 93% of U.S. House incumbents won-re-election.

◦ An average of 82% of U.S. Senate incumbents retained their seats.

◦ Why is this? P. 190

Congressional Campaigns

Coat-tail Effect – a popular presidential candidate may “sweep” other members of his party into Congress on his “coat-tails.”

◦ He attracts voters to the election who will vote for other members of his party.

Congressional Campaigns

1980 Republicans gained 12 Senate seats when Ronald Reagan was elected president.

2008 How many seats did Democrats pick up with the election of Barak Obama?

Congressional Campaigns

Split-Ticket Voting – A voter votes for people of different parties for different offices on a ballot.

Straight-Ticket Voting – A voter votes for all the candidates of one party in an election.

Voting

1896 Election◦ William Jennings Bryan’s “Whirlwind Campaign”◦ William McKinley’s “Front Porch Campaign”

Campaigning & the Media

Radio was first used in a presidential campaign in 1924 (Calvin Coolidge).

Radio is still a powerful force for political speech. (Ex. Rush Limbaugh 1988, Michael Berry, etc.)

Campaigning & the Media

Television was first used in a presidential campaign in 1952.

Blessings: candidate can reach millions with his/her message, present his/her plans for the nation, target advertising to specific groups.

Curses: candidate can embarrass himself/herself and look stupid, crass, rude, or unattractive.

Campaigning & the Media

Television has also allowed superficial factors to play a greater role in elections, sometimes exceeding real policy or character issues in elections.

Campaigning & the Media

Example: Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960.

Campaigning & the Media

Reagan-Mondale Debates 1984

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPu1UIBkBc

Campaigning & the Media

Spots – paid advertisementsFree media – coverage of campaign activities on the nightly news

Campaigning & the Media

Internet◦ Websites◦ Email updates◦ Fund-raising

◦ http://www.rickperry.org/◦ http://www.billwhitefortexas.com/◦ http://www.kathie4guv.com/

Campaigning & the Media

By Kenneth P. Vogel, Politico.com

'Money bomb': Ron Paul raises $6 million in 24-hour period

Federal Elections◦ House of Representatives – 2 year term◦ Senate – 6 year term

◦ At first, Senators were elected by _________________, then the ___________ ______________ was ratified allowing for senators to be directly elected by the people in their states.

Elections & Voting

State Elections – Some are the same as federal elections in

even years. Others hold elections in odd years. Texas has its state elections in even years,

with state offices being selected in the INTERIM of the presidential election.

Elections & Voting

Many local elections are held in the spring.◦ City◦ School Board

Elections & Voting

Polling Place – the place where people vote Poll workers – the people who staff the

elections◦ Poll Managers (precinct judges)◦ Clerks◦ Poll Watchers

Elections & Voting

The Voter – Voting in the United States is a responsibility, a privilege, and a constitutional guarantee.

Elections & Voting

At first, only white male landowners could vote.

Fifteenth amendment extended the vote to all citizens regardless of race.

Nineteenth amendment recognized women’s right to vote.

Twenty-fourth amendment eliminated poll taxes.

Twenty-sixth amendment – extended voting to 18, 19, and 20 year-olds.

Elections & Voting

In recent elections, slightly over half of registered voters exercised their constitutional right to vote.

Elections & Voting

“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” -- John F. Kennedy

Registration ◦ A voter must

REGISTER to vote – officially enroll for the purpose of voting

Be a U.S. CITIZEN Be a RESIDENT of the state in which he/she will vote.

Elections & Voting

Motor Voter Law 1993 – allows people to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license or at other state and lcoal government offices.

Elections & Voting

Geography has increasingly become a divisive factor in politics and elections.◦ Rural areas tend to vote Republican.◦ Urban areas tend to vote Democrat.

◦ Most of the U.S. population is concentrated in the cities.

Elections & Voting

Religion often affects a person’s view and therefore their votes.

In 1960 John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic elected president.

Many “feared” that he would be influenced by the Vatican or the Pope in his governance. Those fears proved to be unfounded.

Elections & Voting

Ethnicity also may be targeted by political parties for their votes.◦ Democrats pursue recent immigrants and African

Americans.◦ Both Republicans & Democrats pursue the Latino

vote: Mexicans & Puerto Ricans tend to vote Democrat. Cubans tend to vote Republican.

Why do you think this is the case?

Elections & Voting

Voice Votes Handmade Paper Ballots Official Paper Ballots listing all candidates and

issues. (AKA “secret ballot” or “Australian ballot”) Mechanical Lever Machines Punch Cards Optical Scan Voting by Mail (Absentee) Electronic Ballot (currently in use in Texas) Internet-based voting

Methods of Voting

Elections have become very expensive. People have been accused of buying their

way into office. People have been accused of influencing

elected officials with campaign contributions.

For over 100 years, the U.S. has been working on Campaign Reform that would be fair and eliminate corruption.

Campaign Finance

Hard money – campaign money raised for a specific candidate in a specific elections and spent according to federal election laws.

Soft money – campaign money raised apart from federal regulations and given to local, state, and national PARTY ORGANIZATIONS.

Campaign Finance

Political Action Committees (PACs) – committees formed by interest groups which raise money and make contributions to specific individuals’ campaigns or causes.

Campaign Finance

Presidential Election Campaign Fund – a fund made up of voluntary contributions of taxpayers which is split between candidates in a presidential election campaign.

The candidates must meet certain criteria to receive the funds. (p. 198)

Campaign Finance

Independent Expenditures – expenses by a person or group that communicates to the voters to help elect or defeat a candidate without the candidate’s knowledge or support.

Ex. Texas Right to Life purchasing ads in the Houston Chronicle which point out Bill White’s pro-choice statements and voting history.

Campaign Finance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CaBR3z85c&feature=player_embedded

Issue Ad

Buckley vs. Valeo – declared parts of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 unconstitutional because it violated the freedom of speech

by limiting a candidate’s spending of his/her own money

by restricting a campaign’s total expensesby limiting independent expenditures

But the Court said limits on donations by individuals and committees were okay.

If a candidate voluntarily accepts public financing, he/she is subject to the spending limits, though.

Independent Expenditures

Campaign Finance Laws◦ Affect parties differently and can be unfair◦ Do not adjust for inflation (from 1974)◦ Tend to favor incumbents who already have name

recognition and staff. They also have FRANKING PRIVILEGES (the use of the Postal Service to communicate with constituents for free).

◦ Now require a candidate’s supporters to organize a committee, appt a treasurer, fill out forms, etc.

Campaign Finance

Should government bear the expense of political campaigns?