And how does he get to be president in the first place?

Who is the president accountable to?  In his first term, assume he wants to be re- elected  Needs to keep his party happy enough that primary voters and partisans re-nominate him  Needs to please median voters in enough states to win 270 Electoral College votes  He needs to raise money for the campaign, too  In his second term…?  So does he represent “everyone?”

A two-stage process  Nomination  Primaries  National Nominating Conventions  General Election

Nominating a presidential candidate  Delegates to the national nominating convention vote on who the nominee will be  Delegates are chosen through primaries, caucuses, and conventions  Each state party is entitled to send a set number of delegates to the national nominating convention Photo from Slideshows/2008-Democratic-National- Convention/%28image%29/0

All about Delegate Selection  Presidential Primary:  A state-sponsored election to select delegates to national nominating convention  Party Caucus:  A meeting where any affiliated voter can come and select individuals to serve as delegates in favor of a candidate  State Party Convention:  A meeting of predetermined party officials

West Virginia  Party Convention  18 delegates selected  All 18 delegates awarded to candidate who wins a solid majority of the vote at the convention on one of the first three ballots.

Colorado  Closed caucus  Precinct caucuses select delegates to county conventions, which select delegates to congressional district conventions, where 36 National Convention delegates will be chosen

California  Closed Primary  170 delegates  159 allocated to the winner in each of 53 congressional districts (3 per district)  11 allocated to winner of statewide vote

California  Open primary  370 delegates selected  241 allocated proportionally based on primary results in each of 53 congressional districts  129 allocated based on statewide vote 3 delegates: CDs 20, 47 4 delegates: CDs 2, 3, 11, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 31, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 51, 52 5 delegates: CDs 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 33, 35, 36, 37, 50, 53 6 delegates: CDs 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 30

Nominating a presidential candidate  Delegates to the national nominating convention vote on who the nominee will be  Dems/Reeps have different rules for selecting delegates, and select them on different dayson different days

Date 1996 Jan wk1 Jan wk2 Jan wk3 Jan wk4 AK, HI Feb wk1 LA Feb wk2 IA Feb wk3 NH Feb wk4 DE, AZ, ND, SD Mar wk1 CA, CT, GA, ME, MD, HI, MN, ND, MA, NY, OH, RI, VT

Date Jan wk1 IA, WY Jan wk2 NH, Jan wk3 MI, NV Jan wk4 SC, FLAK, HI Feb wk1 ME, CA, NY, IL, NJ, MA, GA, MN, MO, TN, CO, AZ, AL, CT, AR, OK, KS, NM, UT, DE, ID, ND, AL, MT LA Feb wk2 LA, NE, WA, ME, DC, MD, VA, HI, WI IA Feb wk3 NH Feb wk4 DE, AZ, ND, SD Mar wk1 OH, RI, TX, VTCA, CT, GA, ME, MD, HI, MN, ND, MA, NY, OH, RI, VT

Why is the calendar important?  Why are the early states so important?

Why is the calendar important?  Early states (traditionally) have determined the outcome due to…  Bandwagon effect  Media coverage  Ability to raise more money

The Presidential nomination process  Advantages of Winning “The Invisible Primary”  Competition for:  media “frontrunner” status  elite endorsements (Clinton, GOP example)ClintonGOP example  money money

The demise of public finance  FECA Creates a voluntary subsidy for candidates who enter primary elections  All funds candidates raise in amounts of $250 or less (if they raise $5000 in 20 different states) are matched by the federal government on Jan 1 of election year  If you take the federal money, you abide by overall and state by state spending restrictions (about $44 million in 2004) No serious candidate now takes this money!