Aim: What are the characteristics of a political campaign?

Do Now: What would you do first if you wanted to run for office?

Starting a Campaign

People running for office hire:1. Media Consultants

2. Direct Mail Firms

3. Polling Firms

4. Political Technology Firms

On what do most politicians spend their money?

Media

• Slick ads that often appeal to voters’ fears

High tech canvassing

• Micro Targeting

American Association for Political Consultants

• A trade association built around the campaign industry

Incumbent: the person already holding an elective office

Incumbent wins over 60% of the time in Congress

a. Less competitive than pres. Races

b. Low voter turnout in midterm elections

c. Credit for providing services to constituents

d. Incumbent can blame the rest of Congress for problems

Congressional Campaigns v. Presidential Campaigns

Incumbent President wins only 50% of the timea. Highly competitive b. high voter turnout in presidential electionsc. gets blamed for the problems in country

Primaries by State

• Grey states have closed primary or caucus• Green States have open primary or caucus• Blue States have semi-open primary or caucus (independents

can vote in the GOP primary)

Frontloading Primaries

Frontloading Primaries: A Case of New Hampshire Envy?"New Hampshire envy," said William G. Mayer, "refers to the perception that New Hampshire gets an enormous range of benefits by holding the first primary in every election cycle, and that other states will benefit if they, too, can hold their primaries as close to the start of the process as possible."… states with early primaries enjoy such benefits as prominent press coverage, rich attention from candidates, heavy and disproportionate influence on the nomination race, economic benefits from campaign and media spending, free publicity for state businesses and resorts, and special policy concessions like discretionary spending and favorable bureaucratic treatment.http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2004/0114elections.aspx

Coattails: A popular president or other well-known politician often helps congressional candidates in his own party through association.1. But, an unpopular president may hurt chances of party members running for Congress2. The power of a president’s coattails is becoming less important in recent years3. Members of the president’s party tend to lose seats in midterm elections: 1994, 2006, 2010

Presidential Campaigns

A. “Get Mentioned”1. Declare candidacy “off the record”

2. Have a famous name

3. Get associated with a famous law

4. Be the governor of a big state

B. Voters prefer candidates with experience as governors or military leaders

C. Money

1. Campaigns take very long to run, because money must be raised.

D. Political Action Committee (PAC): A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations.

E. Organization of a campaign1. a candidate must pay for:

a. press secretaryb. travel schedulerc. direct-mail companyd. pollster

2. Volunteersa. brief candidates on facts of each stateb. get endorsements from local politicians and celebritiesc. knock on doors, make phone callsd. organize receptions and meetings

3. Advisors on Issuesa. write position papers on things you should know about various issues.

F. Strategy and Themes:

a. Incumbent defends record

b. challenger attacks incumbent

c. when no incumbent, candidates announce own programs

d. candidate from party that controls White House will be associated with sitting president, for good or ill

• e. Tone: positive or negative?

• f. Theme: idea that can be repeated (catchphrase)

• g. Timing: come out strong, or save strength for a long fight?

• h. Target: who will change their vote in this election?

Questions for Discussion:

• How do political campaigns compare to the marketing strategies used by corporations to sell products?

• Why do you think incumbents have an advantage in Congressional elections?

• Why do you think coattails have been less important in recent years?