Transcript Nominations, Elections, & Campaigns

Nominations, Elections, &
Campaigns
AP US Government
Lacks
Elections
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“Government ought to be run by the people”
way of ensuring voices are heard is via voting
Americans vote in three levels of elections, for
several different offices – local, state, national
(federalism)
all are pluralistic, not proportional
 Winner-take-all
Elections
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Unfortunately, American elections feature
a low voter turnout
Since the 1970s, only 54% of the
electorate on average votes
And, of those who can vote in American
elections, only 60% are registered at all
Election Campaigns
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defined as organized efforts to persuade
voters to select one candidate over
another for a specific office
Seem simple, but they are complex,
expensive, mentally/physically draining,
and constantly evolving
Election Campaigns
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Because today less than half of Americans have
allegiance to one party, it has gotten even
harder
Since the number of Americans declaring
themselves as Democrats and Republicans are
about the same, the candidate winning the
majority of independent voters, wins the
election
Candidates
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Someone interested in running for office first
explores the possibility of political and financial
support
Often times this is accomplished by establishing
a political action committee (PAC)
In national elections, the RNC and DNC
sometimes seek out potential candidates in
specific districts for state and national elections
Candidates
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Individuals aspiring to become president
must win two races – one to grasp the
party nomination, then to grasp the
presidency
The first race is called the primary
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Candidates must campaign for
and then win the nomination
of their party
Many candidates often run
Primaries
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Each party hosts candidates who go through a
nomination process to determine the presidential
nominee for that party.
The nomination process consists of primaries and
caucuses, held by the 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico,
Washington, D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, American
Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Primaries
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The winner of each of these primary
elections usually receives delegates
proportional to the percentage of the
popular vote that candidate received
in each states. (like the Electoral
College)
Primaries
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In many Republican primaries, all the state's
delegates are awarded to the winning
candidate.
In the Democratic Party, high-ranking party
members known as superdelegates each receive
one vote in at the convention.
Whichever candidate has the majority of the
delegates at the end of the primary elections is
designated the presumptive nominee until he or
she is formally nominated and endorsed for the
presidency by his or her political party.
Candidates
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In 2008, 10 candidates ran in the
Democratic primary and 11 candidates
ran in the Republican primary
Why? It was the first presidential election
since 1952 where there was no incumbent
president or vice president running
2008 Democratic Primary Candidates
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Barack Obama, U.S. Senator from Illinois
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York
John Edwards, former U.S. Senator from North Carolina
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio
Joe Biden, U.S. Senator from Delaware
Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator from Alaska
Christopher Dodd, U.S. Senator from Connecticut
Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa
Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator from Indiana
2008 Republican Primary Candidates
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John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
Ron Paul, U.S. Representative from Texas
Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator from Tennessee
Duncan Hunter, U.S. Representative from California
Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City
Sam Brownback, U.S. Senator from Kansas
Jim Gilmore, former Governor of Virginia
Tom Tancredo, former U.S. Representative from
Colorado
Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin
2012 Republican Primary Candidates
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Mitt Romney, former Gov of Mass
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House
Ron Paul, US Rep from Texas
Rick Santorum, former US Senator from PA
Rick Perry, Gov of Texas
Jon Huntsman, former Gov of Utah
Michelle Bauchmann, US Rep from Minn
Buddy Roemer, former Gov of Louisiana
Fred Karger, political consultant and gay rights activist from CA
6 more who only appeared on ballots in 2 states
28 more who only appeared on ballots in 1 state
Herman Cain & Gary Johnson – withdrew before primaries began
6 more who filled with the FEC, but did not appear on any ballots
How do primaries work?
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Candidates who have political and
financial support hold a press event
declaring their intention to run for
president for a particular party (usually
two years before the 2nd, non-primary,
national election)
Then, the primary campaign trial begins
How do primaries work?
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Candidates travel throughout the country to get
out their issues and appeal to the masses
Primaries are harder – everyone running is from
the same party
Candidates work hard to differentiate
themselves
Success in debates and financial support are
essential to victory
The process takes about 8 months and is meant
to “weed out” lesser candidates
How do primaries work?
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Normally, only the most politically active
citizens pay attention to, or participate in
primaries
The first caucus occurs in Iowa (always the
opening contest) – the winner gets the
“Big Mo” (early momentum, gain more
media attention, free advertising, raises
more money)
How do primaries work?
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2008 Primary Schedule (post debate)
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January 3—Iowa caucus
January 5—Wyoming caucus (Republican only)
January 8—New Hampshire primary
January 15—Michigan primary
January 19—Nevada Caucus & Republican South Carolina
primary
January 26—Democratic South Carolina primary
January 29—Florida primary
February 1 - February 2―Republican Maine caucus
February 5 ― Super Tuesday: Primaries/caucuses for both
parties in 19 states, plus three Democratic-only caucuses and
two Republican-only primaries
How do primaries work?
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Over the past decade, states have tries to move
their caucuses or primaries forward
 Known as front-loaded caucuses/primaries,
the idea is to stage your state’s race early, so
it gets more attention
 Big issue in 2008
Political parties like to instead, spread them out
Why?
How do primaries work?
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However, states schedule the races
Conflicts between the two sides were so bad in
2008 that the Democratic and Republican
parties reserved to not seat the delegates of
Florida and Michigan at their conventions
The Democratic Party did not hold formal
elections in either state – this means these
states did not have Obama’s name on the ballot,
meaning two of the largest states did not get to
nominate (M – 17 electoral votes; F – 27
electoral votes)
Types of Primaries
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1. Nearly all states have a binding primary, in
which the results of the election legally bind
some or all of the delegates to vote for a
particular candidate at the national convention,
for a certain number of ballots or until the
candidate releases the delegates.
2. A handful of states practice a non-binding
primary, which may select candidates to a state
convention, which then selects delegates.
Types of Primaries
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3. In many states, only voters registered with a party
may vote in that party's primary, known as a closed
primary.
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4. In an open primary, any voter may vote in any party's
primary. In all of these systems, a voter may participate
in only one primary; that is, a voter who casts a vote for
a candidate standing for the Republican nomination for
president cannot cast a vote for a candidate standing for
the Democratic nomination, or vice versa.
Virginia?
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Has a primary, not a caucus
Does not register voters by party, so if you are
registered to vote, you can vote in this primary
Have to choose if you want to vote in Republican
primary or Democratic primary
The Republican winner takes all 63 delegates in the
Republican primary (2008)
The Dems play it with a bit more complexity (2008)
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Only 54 of the 103 Democratic delegates are apportioned by the primary
vote in each congressional district
another 29 are assigned based on statewide results.
Another 18 unpledged delegates are selected at the Virginia State
Democratic Convention in June.
The End: National Nominating
Convention
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National Nominating Conventions of each
party are held in July or August
Each state and territory gets a certain
number of seats at the convention
Usually, it is obvious who will win each
party’s nomination before
the convention
Exception in 2008
The End: National Nominating
Convention
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The voting method at the conventions is a
"rolling roll call of the states" (which include
territories).
The states are called in alphabetical order
(Alabama is first; Wyoming is last).
The state's spokesperson (who begins his/her
speech with glowing comments about the
state's history, geography, and
notable party elected officials)
can either choose to announce
its delegate count or pass.
The End: National Nominating
Convention
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Once all states have either declared or passed,
those states which passed are called upon again
to announce their delegate count.
Candidates
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The winner of each primary will go on
to run for President in the national
election