Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Thirteenth AP* Edition
Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry
Chapter 9
Nominations and Campaigns
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game

Nomination: the official endorsement of a
candidate for office by a political party
 Generally, success requires momentum,
money, and media attention.
 Campaign Strategy: the master game plan
candidates lay out to guide their electoral
campaign
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game

Deciding to Run
– Campaigns are more physically and
emotionally taxing than ever.
– Other countries have short campaigns,
generally less than 2 months.
– American campaigns are much longer.

Whoever is elected president in November 2008 will
likely have declared their intention to run in early
2007.
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game

Competing for Delegates
– Nomination game is an elimination contest
– Goal is to win a majority of delegates’ support
at the national party convention, or the supreme
power within each of the parties


The convention meets every four years to nominate
the party’s presidential and vice-presidential
candidates.
Conventions are but a formality today.
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game

Competing for Delegates
– The Caucus Road
 Caucus: meetings of state party leaders for selecting
delegates to the national convention
 Organized like a pyramid from local precincts to the
state’s convention
 A handful of states use a caucus—open to all voters
who are registered with a party
 The Iowa caucus is first and most important.
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game

Competing for Delegates
– The Primary Road

Primary: elections in which voters in a state vote for a nominee
(or delegates pledged to the nominee)
– Began at turn of 20th century by progressive reformers
– McGovern-Fraser Commission led to selection of delegates
through primary elections
– Most delegates are chosen through primaries.
– Superdelegates: democratic leaders who automatically get a
delegate slot


Frontloading is the tendency of states to hold primaries early to
capitalize on media attention. New Hampshire is first.
Generally primaries serve as elimination contests.
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game

Competing for Delegates
– Evaluating the Primary and Caucus System
 Disproportionate attention to early ones
 Prominent politicians do not run.
 Money plays too big a role.
 Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and
unrepresentative; 20 percent vote in primaries
 The system gives too much power to the media.
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game

The Convention Send-off
– National conventions once provided great drama, but
now are a formality, which means less TV time.
– Significant rallying point for parties
– Key note speaker on first day of Convention
– Party platform: statement of a party’s goals and policies
for next four years

Debated on the second day of the Convention
– Formal nomination of president and vice-president
candidates on third and fourth days
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Nomination Game
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Campaign Game

The High-Tech Media Campaign
– Direct mail used to generate support and money
for the candidate
– Get media attention through ad budget and
“free” coverage
– Emphasis on “marketing” a candidate
– News stories focus more on the “horse race”
than substantive policy issues
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Campaign Game

Organizing the Campaign
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Get a campaign manager
Get a fund-raiser and campaign counsel
Hire media and campaign consultants
Assemble staff and plan logistics
Get research staff, policy advisors, and pollsters
Get a good press secretary
Establish a website
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Campaign Game
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
Money and Campaigning

The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms
– Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)



Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer
campaign finance laws for federal elections
Created the Presidential Election Campaign Fund
Provided partial public financing for presidential primaries
– Matching funds: Contributions of up to $250 are matched for
candidates who meet conditions, such as limiting spending.


Provided full public financing for major party candidates in the
general election
Required full disclosure and limited contributions
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
Money and Campaigning

The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms
– Soft Money: political contributions (not subject to
contribution limits) earmarked for party-building
expenses or generic party advertising
– The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) banned soft money,
increased amount of individual contributions, and
limited “issue ads.”
– 527s: independent groups that seek to influence
political process but are not subject to contribution
restricts because they do not directly seek election of
particular candidates
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
Money and Campaigning

The Proliferation of PACs
– Political Action Committees (PACs): created by law in
–
–
–
–
1974 to allow corporations, labor unions and other
interest groups to donate money to campaigns; PACs
are registered with and monitored by the FEC.
As of 2006 there were 4,217 PACs.
PACs contributed over $288.6 million to congressional
candidates in 2004.
PACs donate to candidates who support their issue.
PACs do not “buy” candidates, but give to candidates
who support them in the first place.
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
Money and Campaigning
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
Money and Campaigning

Are Campaigns Too Expensive?
– Fundraising takes a lot of time.
– Incumbents do worse when they spend more
money because they need to spend to defeat
quality challengers.
– The doctrine of sufficiency suggests that
candidates need just “enough” money to win,
not necessarily “more.”
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The Impact of Campaigns

Campaigns have three effects on voters:
– Reinforcement, Activation, Conversion

Several factors weaken campaigns’ impact on
voters:
– Selective perception: pay most attention to things we
agree with
– Party identification still influence voting behavior
– Incumbents begin with sizeable advantage
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
Understanding Nominations
and Campaigns

Are Nominations and Campaigns Too
Democratic?
– Campaigns are open to almost everyone.
– Campaigns consume much time and money.
– Campaigns promote individualism in American politics.

Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased Scope of
Government?
– Candidates make numerous promises, especially to
state and local interests.
– Hard for politicians to promise to cut size of
government
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
Summary

Campaigns are media-oriented and expensive.
 Delegates are selected through caucuses and
primaries.
 Money and contributions from PACs regulated by
the FEC are essential to campaigns.
 Campaigns reinforce perceptions but do not
change minds.
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008