1. Essential Questions
How are Primaries and Caucuses used to select the party candidates
What is the Difference between P’s and C’s
What are Open vs Closed vs Blanket Primaries
Why are P’s and C’s seen as more democratic than the old system of letting party bosses select candidates
Understand the Problems: Frontloading, TV/Media, $

2. Selecting a President 2016:
Primaries & Caucuses
& Media

3. Primaries & Caucuses Difference between P’s and C’s
Primaries are elections statewide
Caucuses are meetings statewide
Open vs Closed vs Blanket Primaries
Open – anyone from either party can vote in it
Closed – must be registered to vote in it
Blanket - voters may pick one candidate for each office without regard to party lines

4. Presidential Selection
Stage 1: Caucuses & Primaries
The Battle for the Party Faithful
Stage 2: Nominating Conventions
“Glorified Infomercials?”
Stage 3: General Election
The Fight for the Center
Stage 4: Electoral College
Power to the People?

5. The goal of this season is to collect delegates for each win of a Primary or a Caucus

6. Stage 1: Caucuses Closed meeting of party members in each state
Delegates select the party’s choice for presidential candidate
Currently, six states offer party caucuses selecting presidential nominees.

7. Stage 1: Primaries
Presidential Primary Elections - special elections in which voters select candidates to be the party’s nominee for president in the general election.
Primary Season - January - June
Who Decides? - State party organizations for the most part decide the rules for the primaries in a particular state.
Types of Primaries:
Closed Primaries
Open Primaries
Chris Christie announcing his campaign

8. Closed Primary
Voters may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party

9. Open Primary
A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his or her own party affiliation.

11. Hajo De Reijger- www.caglecartoons.com
What advantage did the democratic party have in the 2012 election process?

12. Front-loading
Since the 1970s, states have held their primaries earlier and earlier to increase their influence over the nomination process. 
In turn, it is difficult for poorly funded and lesser-known candidates to secure the nomination.  Following George W. Bush’s defeat of John Kerry in 2004, Democrats created the Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling. 
Any states that violated these guidelines could lose all or half of their delegates at the convention.  In 2008, Florida and Michigan scheduled primaries in January and lost half of their delegates at the convention.
On Super Tuesday, 16 states held primaries.

13. The President and the Media
Does the media impact politics? Does politics affect the media?

14. The media and public opinion
Do the media influence public opinion?
Impact of newspapers
Journalists may be liberal, but publishers are conservative
Lack of competition
Type of coverage
Impact of television
Decline of substantive coverage, rise of images and slogans
SOUNDBITES
Impact of “adversarial journalism”
Impact of the internet
Traditional sites vs. “Drudge” and blogs?
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15. Effects of the media on politics
A symbiotic relationship
Roles of the media
News Provider- Providing the facts
Scorekeeper- Who is winning/Who is losing?
Watchdog- What govt scandals have they uncovered?
Gatekeeper- What do they cover/not cover?
The nature of media influences
Profit
Agenda-setting
Cost
Candidate-centered campaigns
WH manipulation of the media
Negative coverage of Congress
Far less coverage of Supreme Court than other branches
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16. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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18. Essential Questions
How are Primaries and Caucuses used to select the party candidates
What is the Difference between P’s and C’s
What are Open vs Closed vs Blanket Primaries
Why are P’s and C’s seen as more democratic than the old system of letting party bosses select candidates
Understand the Problems: Frontloading, TV/Media, $