1. 19.3 Campaigning for Office

2. Planning and Running a Campaign
-Campaign Organization
Campaign Manager
Manages staff work
Includes fundraisers, speechwriters, media advisers
Also in charge of the “ advanced people” Other Managers
Responsible for the volunteers( thousands)
Volunteers handle the business required to win the election.

3. Planning and Running a Campaign
Finding Out What the Public Thinks
A successful campaign must keep an eye on the public ‘s wants and needs.
Usually a campaign has it’s own opinion poll taker to find out America's problems.
He also finds out what problems the voters think are the most important.
Polls can also find out the impact of the campaign in different parts of the country and among different groups of voters.

4. Planning and Running a Campaign
Managing and Using the Media
Candidates get their message across by advertising on
Radios
Newspapers TV
The campaign team focuses on style and images rather than there ideas or issues

5. Financing a Campaign Campaign Finance Law
No one person may give more than $2,000 to a candidate.
Candidates must report the name of anyone who has given them more than $200
Citizens may give $3 of there taxes each year.
Every election year the (FEC) Federal Election Commission offers money from this fund to each of the major candidates.
PACs give up to $5,000 to each candidate.

6. Financing a Campaign Criticism of Campaign Financing
A lot of people complain that elections cost too much
High cost of running keeps candidates people from running
Afraid that only rich people will be able too run for office
Some people want campaigns to be financed by the public so everybody can run
- what do you think?

7. Who Wins an Election?
It is our duty (as citizens) to elect the best leaders and decision makers.
- Good decision making is not all that is required:
-Good Looks
-Well Organized
-Good campaign team
-An incumbent has a good chance of winning
-But incumbents are not unbeatable.
-1/4 of past presidents have lost a re-election
(write down questions)

8. The Electoral College How the Electoral College Works
Each state sends one team of electors that has as number of congressmen
To vote for the president (ONLY)
If one team wins they will send that team to the Electoral college
This is where the electors vote for the candidate who won in that state
An elector is not required to vote for the candidate who he or she is pledged too
To win, a candidate needs 270 or more votes of the Electoral College to win

9. The Electoral College
The # of electors from a state is = the # of members of the House of Representatives + the # of senators (2)

10. The Electoral College The 2000 Election and the Electoral College
- some people think that the “winner take all” is unfair
- people have pointed out that candidates have had less than majority votes yet still won
- for example in 2000 Al Gore received more votes than George Bush
- yet Bush still won with 271 votes to Al Gores 267 votes
- but in most cases however the person who gets the majority of the popular votes also gets the electoral votes
- the drama of the 2000 election made many American political leaders question if the electoral college was worth keeping