Insights into Campaigns, Nominations, and Elections

1. Chapter 10 Campaigns, Nominations, & Elections

2. Why Do People Run for Office? • There are two categories of people who run for office: self-starters and those who were recruited by a party to run for office. • Self-starters may choose to get invovled for the following reasons: • To gain publicity to further a career outside of the electoral process. • Because of a commitment to a specific policy issue or for support for a political cause. • Recruited candidates have been chosen by leaders within the party to run for office because they appear to have qualities that are necessary to gain the support of the voting public.

3. President must be a natural born citizen must be 35 years old must be a resident for 14 years before inauguration Vice President must be a natural born citizen must be 35 years old must not be a resident of the same state as the presidential candidate Senate must be a citizen for at least nine years must be 30 years old must be a resident of the state from which elected Representative must be a citizen for at least seven years must be 25 years old must be a resident of the state from which elected Who Is Eligible to Run for Office?there are few eligibility requirements to run for most U.S. offices

5. Characteristics of 21st Century Campaigns • longer campaigns than in the past • greater emphasis on funds • lesser emphasis on political parties • greater reliance on political consultants, who are hired to devise a campaign strategy • greater emphasis on candidate visibility, or name recognition • greater use of polls and focus groups • tracking polls -- indicate how well a campaign is going by polling nearly every day • focus groups -- are small groups of people consultants use to gather information about reactions to candidates and issues

6. The Strategy of Winning • Campaign strategy is largely dependent upon the candidate’s name recognition. If the candidate is well-known, then the strategy will be to remind voters of the candidate’s accomplishments and to mobilize them to vote. • If the candidate is unknown, then the strategy will be to get the candidate known to the voters. Once that is accomplished then the candidate will begin to criticize their opponent’s positions.

7. Federal Corrupt Practices Act of 1925 limited election expenses for candidates required disclosures was ineffective because of its many loopholes The Hatch Act of 1939 prohibited groups from spending more than $3 million in a campaign limited individual contributions to committees to $5,000 designed to end influence peddling Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972 restricted mass media expenditures limited contributions by candidate and family members required disclosure of all contributions over $100 provided $1 voluntary check-off for presidential campaigns on federal income tax form Regulating Campaign Finance

8. Regulating Campaign Finance (cont.) • Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 • created the Federal Election Commission • provided public financing of presidential elections’ • limited presidential election campaign spending • limited contributions • required disclosure of contributions and expenditures • allowed corporations, unions, and special interest to establish PACs (1976 amendment) • Buckley v. Valeo (1976) declared the 1972 limitation on what an individual could spend on his or her own election unconstitutional

9. Beyond Campaign Finance Law • soft money – the Supreme Court said that “party building activities” (like voter registration drives) should be encouraged, thus allowing unlimited and unregulated contributions to political parties • independent expenditures – are unregulated funds spent by individuals or interest groups on advertising or other campaign activities that are not coordinated with any candidate’s expenditures • bundling – is the practice of adding together maximum individual contributions and presenting them to the candidate together to maximize their impact

10. The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 • banned soft money contributions to the national party committees • placed limitations on issue-advocacy advertisements • increased the individual contribution limitation from $1000 to $2000

11. What is a Presidential Primary? • a statewide primary election of delegates to a party’s national convention to help a party determine its presidential nominee

12. Types of Presidential Primaries • closed primary – only voters who are declared party members can vote in that party’s primary • open primary – voters can vote in either party primary without disclosing their party affiliation • blanket primary – voters can vote in primary elections for candidates of more than one party (a Democrat for the presidential nominee and a Republican for the Senate nominee, for example) • run-off primary – if no candidate receives a majority in the first primary, some states require a second primary between the top two candidates

14. The Electoral College • Electors in the Electoral College actually elect the president and vice president of the United States • the numbers of electors in each state is equal to that state’s number of representatives in both houses of Congress • electors typically cast their votes for the candidate that receives the plurality of votes in that state • because of the winner take all system of the electoral college, it typically serves to exaggerate the popular margin of victory

17. Why Don’t People Vote? • political withdrawal – fewer citizens feel involved enough in their community to be interested in voting • rational ignorance – people choose not to inform themselves on issue because they do not believe their vote is likely to be a deciding factor • campaign effects – the length of campaigns and negative advertising may drive voters away

19. Factors that Influence How People Vote • education • income and socioeconomic status • religion • ethnic background • gender • age • geographic region • psychological factors • party identification • perception of the candidates • issue preferences