19.3 Campaigning for Office

1. 19.3 Campaigning for Office

2. Planning and Running a Campaign -Campaign Organization • Campaign Manager • Manages staff work • Includes fundraisers, speechwriters, media advisers • Also in charge of the “ advanced people” -Other Managers • Responsible for the volunteers( thousands) • Volunteers handle the business required to win the election.

3. Planning and Running a Campaign • Finding Out What the Public Thinks • A successful campaign must keep an eye on the public ‘s wants and needs. • Usually a campaign has it’s own opinion poll taker to find out America's problems. • He also finds out what problems the voters think are the most important. • Polls can also find out the impact of the campaign in different parts of the country and among different groups of voters.

4. Planning and Running a Campaign • Managing and Using the Media • Candidates get their message across by advertising on • Radios • Newspapers • TV • The campaign team focuses on style and images rather than there ideas or issues

5. Financing a Campaign • Campaign Finance Law • No one person may give more than $2,000 to a candidate. • Candidates must report the name of anyone who has given them more than $200 • Citizens may give $3 of there taxes each year. • Every election year the (FEC) Federal Election Commission offers money from this fund to each of the major candidates. • PACs give up to $5,000 to each candidate.

6. Financing a Campaign • Criticism of Campaign Financing • A lot of people complain that elections cost too much • High cost of running keeps candidates people from running • Afraid that only rich people will be able too run for office • Some people want campaigns to be financed by the public so everybody can run • - what do you think?

7. Who Wins an Election? • It is our duty (as citizens) to elect the best leaders and decision makers. - Good decision making is not all that is required: -Good Looks -Well Organized -Good campaign team -An incumbent has a good chance of winning -But incumbents are not unbeatable. -1/4 of past presidents have lost a re-election (write down questions)

8. The Electoral College • How the Electoral College Works • Each state sends one team of electors that has as number of congressmen • To vote for the president (ONLY) • If one team wins they will send that team to the Electoral college • This is where the electors vote for the candidate who won in that state • An elector is not required to vote for the candidate who he or she is pledged too • To win, a candidate needs 270 or more votes of the Electoral College to win

9. The Electoral College The # of electors from a state is = the # of members of the House of Representatives + the # of senators (2)

10. The Electoral College • The 2000 Election and the Electoral College - some people think that the “winner take all” is unfair - people have pointed out that candidates have had less than majority votes yet still won - for example in 2000 Al Gore received 500000 more votes than George Bush - yet Bush still won with 271 votes to Al Gores 267 votes - but in most cases however the person who gets the majority of the popular votes also gets the electoral votes - the drama of the 2000 election made many American political leaders question if the electoral college was worth keeping