Nominations and Campaigns For Dummies

1. Nominations and CampaignsFor Dummies By Taylor Hubbs And Ellysia Rhodes

2. The Nomination Game I Deciding to Run • People who decide to run are the people who can handle the physical and emotional taxing of campaigns. • You need a “fire in the belly” -”fire in the belly”: ready to fight with energy and determination for what you believe in Competing for Delegates • Prior to the existence of primaries all state parties selected their delegates to the National Convention in a meeting of state party leaders called a caucus. -”caucus”: a group of members of Congress that is mostly composed of members from both parties and both houses

3. The Nomination Game II • Unlike the past, they are now open to all voters registered to the party. • Presidential primaries are where voters in a state go to the polls and vote for a candidate or delegates pledge to the candidate. • Recently states tend to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention which is called frontloading.

4. The Nomination Game IIIThe most important criticisms are: • Disproportionate attention goes to the early caucuses and primaries. • Prominent politicians find it difficult to take time out from their duties to run • Money plays too big a role in the caucuses and primaries • Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and unrepresentative • The system gives too much power to the media.

5. The Nomination Game IV The Convention Send-off Drama has largely been drained from conventions because the winner is a foregone conclusion. An important day in the marathon is when the party states its goals and policies for the next four years.

6. The Campaign Game I The High-Tech Media Campaign • Television is the most prevalent means used by candidates to reach voters. • The two main goals of a campaign are: • How candidates use their advertising budget • The “free” attention they get as newmakers

7. The Campaign Game IIOrganizing the Campaign Candidates must: Plan the logistics Get a research staff and policy advisers Hire a pollster Get a good press secretary Establish a website • Get a campaign manager • Get a fundraiser • Get a campaign counsel • Assemble a campaign staff • Hire media and campaign consultants

8. Money and Campaigns I The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms • Federal Election Commission (FEC)- The FEC administers the campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements • FEC had two main goals: • Tightening reporting requirements for contributions • Limiting overall expenditures

9. Money and Campaigns II The Proliferation of PACs • PACs: funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms • A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the FAC which will meticulously monitor the PAC’s expenditures. Are Campaigns Too Expensive? • In a sense campaigning only costs each American about as much as a DVD. • Politicians are bothered by the fact that they have to fundraise the majority of their time which distracts from their job as legislatures. “Enough money must be spent to get a message across to compete effectively but outspending ones opponent is not always necessary- even an incumbent with a massive ratio of higher spending.”

10. The Impact of Campaigns I “A good campaign is key to victory.” Campaigns have three effects on voters: Reinforcement Activation Conversion Factors that tend to weaken campaigns’ impact on voters: Selective Perception: people pay attention to things they already agree with and interpret things to their understanding Party Identification Campaigners begin a “track record”

11. Understanding Nominations and Campaigns I Are Nominations and Campaigns Too Democratic? • America has a entrepreneurial system in which the people play a crucial role at every stage from nomination to election. Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased Scope of Government? • The presidency, in peoples views, was to be an office responsible for seeing to the public interest as a whole.

12. The End “States are the key battlegrounds of presidential campaigns, and candidates must tailor their appeals to the particular interest of each major state”