Chapter 10: Elections and Campaigns

What a fitting time to complete this chapter!

Presidential vs. Congressional

CampaignsDifferences

Size

more people vote in presidential elections so they work harder and spend more money

Competition

presidential races are more competitve

Off - Year

years when there isn’t a presidential election...very low turnout in those years

Their Jobs

members of Congress can do things for constituents that Presidents cannot

Individuals v President

Congressional nominees can run as individuals, Presidential nominees are not distanced from the “mess in D.C.”

Independence of presidential elections

Congress is independent of presidential elections

Running for President

Getting Mentioned

Elusive “Great Mentioner” - says a person would make a great candidate

Off the Record - not official

Make Speeches - hit “hot states”

Your name - is it famous?

ID with legislation

you may identify with certain pieces of legislation

Governor of a large State

parallel to being president

Running for Pres

Set aside time to run

How many years do you need?

Your current office

$$PAC - Political Action Committee - set up by and representing a corporation, labor union, or other special interest group

Matching federal grants - certain circumstances and the federal government will match grants - ex 5,000 pople in 20 States of $250 or less.

$$ makes the world go ‘round

1960: 175 million

2000: 5.1 billion (including primaries, conventions, presidential campaigns)

What do you think about this?

Two sources of funding...public and private

Small Contributors - $5 to $10. This is 10% of voting aged people

Wealthy individuals

Candidates - incumbents and challengers

Ross Perot spent 65 million out of pocket

Various non-party groups, such as PACs

Temporary organizations, groups developed for the short term pupose of campaign fund raising

Benefits

Subsidy - a grant of money, from the federal or state treasuries

Regulations are found in detailed laws

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

FECA Amendments

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

Regulating

FEC

Federal Election Commission administers all federal law dealing with campaign finance

Established in 1974 as an independent agency in the executive branch.

What they do...make sure you have..

timely disclosure of campaign finance data

spotlight the place of money in federal campaigns

need one certified public accountant in their campaign organizations

cont.

cash gifts no higher than 100$ and no worries

Need to closely account for each donation...those over 200$ need to be identified by the source and date

any contribution greater than $5,000 must be reported in 48 hours

Place limits on contributions

an individual can give no more than $2,000 to a single, federal candidate.

No person can give more than $2,000 to a federal candidates general election campaign

A person can give no more than $5,000 to a PAC

A person can give no more than $25,000 to a national party committee

Total contributions can be no more than $95,000 in an election cycle

Place limits on campaign expenditures

most limits apply to presidential elections only

Buckley v Valeo - Supreme Court struck down several spending limits set by the FECA Amendments because they were contrary to freedom of expression

Buckley v Valeo THREW OUT

limit on campaign expenditures by candidates running for seats in the House or Senate

Limit on how much of their own money candidates could put into their own campaigns

no person or group could spend more than $1,000 on behalf of any federal candidate without the candidates permission

FEC can limit money it has given to candidates (federal subsidies). If you do not take the money you are not bound by the limits

Provide public funding (subsidies) for several parts of the presidential election process

pre-convention campaigns - supported by private contributions and public money from the FEC but you need to meet eligibility requirements

National Conventions

if a major party applies for the money it received a grant to pay for it. In 2000 they each received 13.5 million from the FEC

Presidential Election Campaigns

Each major party nominee automatically is qualified for a public subsidy to cover the costs of general election campaigns. The candidate can refuse if they want to raise money somehow else.

Hard money

money raised and spend to elect candidates for Congress and the White House

Soft money

funds given to party organizations for such “party building activities” as candidate recruitment, voter registration get out the vote drives

BiPartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 - McCain Feingold Bill -

aimed at the soft money problem. Bans soft money contributions to political parties, in particular, to their national and congressional campaign committees

Political Action Committees

There are 4,000 PACs registered

Distribute money to those candidates who

are sympathetic to its goals

have a reasonable chance of winning

No PAC can give more than $5,000 to any one federal candidate in an election, or $10,000 per election cycle

There is no overall limit on PAC giving to candidates (they can give how ever many candidates they want $5,000 each)

Can contribute up to $15,000 a year to a political party

PACs put an estimated $400 million into the presidential and congressional campaigns in 2000

Running for Pres

Organization

Staff ($$)

Volunteers

Advisors

Running for PresStrategy and Themes

Incumbents Record - defend or attack?

Tone - positive or negative?

Develop a theme - trust? confidence? change? country first?

Judge Timing - early momentum? Save resources for later?

Target voter - who is the audience? What are the constituents?

Getting Elected to Congress

What impacts this?

District Boundaries

Malapportionment: districts have different populations, so the votes in the less-populated district “weigh more” than those in the more-populated district (twice as many voters are needed in a larger district to elect)

Gerrymandering: Boundaries are drawn to favor one party rather than another, resulting in odd-shaped districts

Getting Elected to Congress

Problems associated with the House

Size - Congress decides the House size at 435

Allocation of seats - After each 10 year census the states decide the districts

Determining size of congressional districts - states decide

Determining shape of congressional districts - states decide

Winning Congressional

PrimaryVoter signatures - need enough to appear on ballot in the primary

Win party nomination

Run in general election

Staying in Office

Delegates vs. Trustees

Primary vs. General

CampaignsWhat works in one, might not work in the other

different voters, media, etc

$$ - need those who will give money and attend the primary

Activists vs voters at large - primary voters are more “radical” than voters at large

Iowa Caucuses (or recent trend of front-loading) and New Hampshire Primary

Media Attention on their results

Winner leanings? Usually most liberal and most conservative

Balancing Act

Primary voters are more ideological

Conservative enough/Liberal Enough

Center Move after primary

Translates to a balancing act

Two Kinds of Campaign Issues1) Position Issues

rival candidates with opposing views, usually voters are divided on partisan lines

2008?

Realignments

2) Valance Issues: does the candidate support the public’s view on an issue where most people agree

ex. strong economy, low unemployment rates, things people are not going to oppose

T.V. Debates, Direct Mail

Debates

Who gets the advantage?

News Broadcast

Credibility

Paid Advertising

Name recognition

Internet

Direct-Mail

Webpages

Internet Appeal

What do you risk through the media?

Overstated factors

VP

Religion

Abortion as a single issue

What Decides Elections?

Party (Democrats less wedded to their party as Republicans, GOP does better with Independents, GOP has a higher turnout)

Issues, Especially Economy

Campaign (reawaken party loyalties,

character, (how they handle pressure)

Winning Coalition (people who will vote for them)