Nominations, Elections, & Campaigns AP US Government Lacks

Elections “Government ought to be run by the people” way of ensuring voices are heard is via voting Americans vote in three levels of elections, for several different offices – local, state, national (federalism) all are pluralistic, not proportional  Winner-take-all

Elections Unfortunately, American elections feature a low voter turnout Since the 1970s, only 54% of the electorate on average votes And, of those who can vote in American elections, only 60% are registered at all

Election Campaigns defined as organized efforts to persuade voters to select one candidate over another for a specific office Seem simple, but they are complex, expensive, mentally/physically draining, and constantly evolving

Election Campaigns Because today less than half of Americans have allegiance to one party, it has gotten even harder Since the number of Americans declaring themselves as Democrats and Republicans are about the same, the candidate winning the majority of independent voters, wins the election

Candidates Someone interested in running for office first explores the possibility of political and financial support Often times this is accomplished by establishing a political action committee (PAC) In national elections, the RNC and DNC sometimes seek out potential candidates in specific districts for state and national elections

Candidates Individuals aspiring to become president must win two races – one to grasp the party nomination, then to grasp the presidency The first race is called the primary  Candidates must campaign for and then win the nomination of their party  Many candidates often run

Primaries Each party hosts candidates who go through a nomination process to determine the presidential nominee for that party. The nomination process consists of primaries and caucuses, held by the 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Primaries The winner of each of these primary elections usually receives delegates proportional to the percentage of the popular vote that candidate received in each states. (like the Electoral College)

Primaries In many Republican primaries, all the state's delegates are awarded to the winning candidate. In the Democratic Party, high-ranking party members known as superdelegates each receive one vote in at the convention. Whichever candidate has the majority of the delegates at the end of the primary elections is designated the presumptive nominee until he or she is formally nominated and endorsed for the presidency by his or her political party.

Candidates In 2008, 10 candidates ran in the Democratic primary and 11 candidates ran in the Republican primary Why? It was the first presidential election since 1952 where there was no incumbent president or vice president running

2008 Democratic Primary Candidates Barack Obama, U.S. Senator from Illinois Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York John Edwards, former U.S. Senator from North Carolina Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio Joe Biden, U.S. Senator from Delaware Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator from Alaska Christopher Dodd, U.S. Senator from Connecticut Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator from Indiana

2008 Republican Primary Candidates John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts Ron Paul, U.S. Representative from Texas Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator from Tennessee Duncan Hunter, U.S. Representative from California Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City Sam Brownback, U.S. Senator from Kansas Jim Gilmore, former Governor of Virginia Tom Tancredo, former U.S. Representative from Colorado Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin

2012 Republican Primary Candidates Mitt Romney, former Gov of Mass Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House Ron Paul, US Rep from Texas Rick Santorum, former US Senator from PA Rick Perry, Gov of Texas Jon Huntsman, former Gov of Utah Michelle Bauchmann, US Rep from Minn Buddy Roemer, former Gov of Louisiana Fred Karger, political consultant and gay rights activist from CA 6 more who only appeared on ballots in 2 states 28 more who only appeared on ballots in 1 state Herman Cain & Gary Johnson – withdrew before primaries began 6 more who filled with the FEC, but did not appear on any ballots

How do primaries work? Candidates who have political and financial support hold a press event declaring their intention to run for president for a particular party (usually two years before the 2 nd, non-primary, national election) Then, the primary campaign trial begins

How do primaries work? Candidates travel throughout the country to get out their issues and appeal to the masses Primaries are harder – everyone running is from the same party Candidates work hard to differentiate themselves Success in debates and financial support are essential to victory The process takes about 8 months and is meant to “weed out” lesser candidates

How do primaries work? Normally, only the most politically active citizens pay attention to, or participate in primaries The first caucus occurs in Iowa (always the opening contest) – the winner gets the “Big Mo” (early momentum, gain more media attention, free advertising, raises more money)

How do primaries work? 2008 Primary Schedule (post debate)  January 3—Iowa caucus  January 5—Wyoming caucus (Republican only)  January 8—New Hampshire primary  January 15—Michigan primary  January 19—Nevada Caucus & Republican South Carolina primary  January 26—Democratic South Carolina primary  January 29—Florida primary  February 1 - February 2―Republican Maine caucus  February 5 ― Super Tuesday: Primaries/caucuses for both parties in 19 states, plus three Democratic-only caucuses and two Republican-only primaries

How do primaries work? Over the past decade, states have tries to move their caucuses or primaries forward  Known as front-loaded caucuses/primaries, the idea is to stage your state’s race early, so it gets more attention  Big issue in 2008 Political parties like to instead, spread them out Why?

How do primaries work? However, states schedule the races Conflicts between the two sides were so bad in 2008 that the Democratic and Republican parties reserved to not seat the delegates of Florida and Michigan at their conventions The Democratic Party did not hold formal elections in either state – this means these states did not have Obama’s name on the ballot, meaning two of the largest states did not get to nominate (M – 17 electoral votes; F – 27 electoral votes)

Types of Primaries 1. Nearly all states have a binding primary, in which the results of the election legally bind some or all of the delegates to vote for a particular candidate at the national convention, for a certain number of ballots or until the candidate releases the delegates. 2. A handful of states practice a non-binding primary, which may select candidates to a state convention, which then selects delegates.

Types of Primaries 3. In many states, only voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary, known as a closed primary. 4. In an open primary, any voter may vote in any party's primary. In all of these systems, a voter may participate in only one primary; that is, a voter who casts a vote for a candidate standing for the Republican nomination for president cannot cast a vote for a candidate standing for the Democratic nomination, or vice versa.

Virginia? Has a primary, not a caucus Does not register voters by party, so if you are registered to vote, you can vote in this primary Have to choose if you want to vote in Republican primary or Democratic primary The Republican winner takes all 63 delegates in the Republican primary (2008) The Dems play it with a bit more complexity (2008)  Only 54 of the 103 Democratic delegates are apportioned by the primary vote in each congressional district  another 29 are assigned based on statewide results.  Another 18 unpledged delegates are selected at the Virginia State Democratic Convention in June.

The End: National Nominating Convention National Nominating Conventions of each party are held in July or August Each state and territory gets a certain number of seats at the convention Usually, it is obvious who will win each party’s nomination before the convention Exception in 2008

The End: National Nominating Convention The voting method at the conventions is a "rolling roll call of the states" (which include territories). The states are called in alphabetical order (Alabama is first; Wyoming is last). The state's spokesperson (who begins his/her speech with glowing comments about the state's history, geography, and notable party elected officials) can either choose to announce its delegate count or pass.

The End: National Nominating Convention Once all states have either declared or passed, those states which passed are called upon again to announce their delegate count.

Candidates The winner of each primary will go on to run for President in the national election