Road to the White House

Preview

• Each event listed below is a step in the process of running for president. Based on what you know about elections, arrange the steps in the most logical order.

• Form a campaign organization

• Develop a campaign strategy

• Run in primaries and caucuses

• Build a coalition of supporters

• Participate in televised debates

• Hold popular election

• Announce candidacy

• Attend national convention

• Raise funds

Once you put the steps in order:

Answer this question: Do you think this process helps or hinders us in electing the

best individual as president?

Road to the White House

Official Constitutional Requirements• Age: 35

• Citizenship: Natural born citizen

• Residency: Resident of US for last 14 years

Unofficial Requirements• White, Ancestry: European background (62% British)• Male and older (43-69)• WASP: Protestant and wealthy• Marital status: married• Political background: political or law background

Organize 1-2 yrs

Primaries/Caucuses Feb-June

National Conventions (Rep: 8/27-30 ; Dem: 9/3-6)

Campaign -- Sep-Nov

Vote -- November

Electoral College – Dec/JanTransition – Nov/Jan

Inauguration – Jan

TIMELINE-8 STEPS

Step One: Organize and PlanningStep One: Organize and Planning

• Build a coalition of supportersBuild a coalition of supporters– Exploratory committeeExploratory committee

• Raise fundsRaise funds

• Form a campaign organization Form a campaign organization – Hire major staffHire major staff

• Develop a campaign strategyDevelop a campaign strategy– State staff and organizationState staff and organization

STEP 2: State Caucuses and Primaries

Caucuses• Purpose: Small meetings, where people come together to select delegates

• First state: Iowa

• Importance: as we have seen, Iowa can give a huge boost to a candidate (Santorum and Romney) or force people out of the race early (Bachmann, Perry and Huntsman)

Primaries• State elections with in a party to get delegates support at the national

convention • 3 kinds: open, closed and binding

• First state: New Hampshire

• Importance: weeds out candidates, proves who can win and where

STEP 3: Win Nomination at Convention

• Purpose of convention: Choose party’s candidate

• Where do we hold the convention: Big electoral state

• Why: Get media exposure for party and candidate

• What is the Platform Committee: Writes rules for convention and writes the party’s stance on current issues (that is voted on by delegates)

• Significance of the Keynote address: kicks off convention, sets tone and exposes an “up and coming star” of the party

• Selection of the Nominee: as many ballots as it takes to get the majority support of delegates

• Acceptance speeches: Accepts Picks the VP running mate

• Call for unity: get the party faithful fired up for the Fall election

STEP 4: Campaign against other Parties

• Formal start of the campaign : Kick off is the Labor Day weekend: the beginning of September; 8 weeks to package the candidate

• Time constraints: Campaign needs to decide its strategy for winning the elections; where to campaign, how to spend resources; swing states are states that can “swing” the election because they have more electoral votes or independent voters that can be swayed to vote for either party

•Use of Media: Decide how and where to spend money; ads, radio, talk shows, TV

•Debates: A candidate has to decide if (s )he will participate; if so when, where,

the format.

STEP 5: General Election

• Day America votes: Presidential elections are always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November; every four years; always in even number years

• Voting: goes on all day and polls close at 8:00pm

• Exit Polls: gets info about how people voted as they exit the polling place

• Media Coverage: As the east coast polls close, broadcasting the outcome can affect the west where the polls are still opened

STEP 6: Electoral College

• Electoral System: the people who really elect the president

• Number of electoral votes needed to win: 270

• Electoral votes by state: number of representatives and+ 2 senators = electors

• Vote: Each states sends electors from the winning party to the capitol to vote for president on the first Monday after the 2nd Wed. in December

• Plurality vs. majority: Most popular vote vs 50% +1

• Problems with the system: Popular vote doesn’t win; electors aren’t obligated to vote any one way; messy system if no one gets 270 electoral votes

STEP 7: Transition Period

• Lameduck President: Outgoing president

• President elect: Briefed by appropriate government agencies

• Secret service protection: Full time police protection for president and family

• Transition: Cabinet selected, inaugural address written; starts putting the staff in place. An office and staff is provided by the government

STEP 8: Inauguration

• When: January 20th

• Oath of office: Sworn in by Supreme Court Justice; gives the inaugural speech to inspire the country, Parade, if weather permits, the president and family walks down Pennsylvania Ave., assumes the job

• Inaugural Ball: There are many parties that take place that night; corporate sponsors; the president and VP and spouses go and make an appearance at all of them.

Assignment

• You will be making a Road Map to the White House. It will include a “pit stop” for every one of the eight steps. You will include a paragraph the explains the step and include a visual that show what the step includes. It will be done a piece of construction paper given to you in class.