Download Presidential Primaries

[ 11.3 ] Electing the President
Presidential Primaries
• Significance of Primary Timing- front-loading primaries
Presidential Primaries
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney announces his candidacy for the Republican
presidential nomination. Romney won the nomination but lost the election to Barack Obama.
Presidential Primaries
The popularity of the primary method of nominating presidential candidates has gone up and down
through the years. Analyze Graphs When did the popularity of primaries peak?
Presidential Primaries
The map shows the month in which presidential primaries were held in 2012. Analyze Maps How
would spreading out State primaries affect a candidate's campaign?
Evaluation of the Presidential Primary
Republican presidential candidates participate in a debate during the 2012 election campaign. Debates
and primaries can help narrow the field early in the delegate selection process.
The National Convention
Democratic and Republican national conventions have been held in cities across the country. Analyze
Maps Why might certain cities be chosen for conventions more frequently than others?
Who Is Nominated?
President Barack Obama accepts the nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate in the 2012
election. Only five sitting presidents have failed to win the nomination to a second term.
Who Is Nominated?
The Presidential Campaign
• Saturating the Country- how?
• Targeting Key Voters- swing states
• Election Day- waiting on the Electoral
College
The Presidential Campaign
An 1864 campaign poster from the Civil War era depicts third-party candidates who later endorsed
Lincoln. Even during the most challenging times, the U.S. has maintained its traditions.
• Choosing Electors- chosen by popular vote
The Electoral College
Flaws in the Electoral College
• The First Major Defect- winner take all?
• The Second Major Defect- voting with the
public
• The Third Major Defect- Congress can
choose
Flaws in the Electoral College
The 2000 presidential election, which pitted George W. Bush against Al Gore, was only the fourth time
in U.S. history that the winner of the popular vote did not win the election.
Flaws in the Electoral College
Proposed Reforms and a Defense
• District and Proportional Plans- two from
state at large and the rest are elected
from Congressional districts OR
proportional votes
• Direct Popular Election- abolish electoral
college
Proposed Reforms and a Defense
Proposed Reforms and a Defense
Quiz: Evaluation of the Presidential Primary
In the caucus system, the political power is held by
A.
B.
C.
D.
leaders of the political parties.
elected state officials.
voters.
primary frontrunners.
Quiz: The National Convention
A typical national convention is best described as
A.
B.
C.
D.
a chain of powerful debates staged for effect.
a sequence of events whose outcomes are dependent on each other.
a series of suspenseful, highly dramatic announcements.
a checklist of formalities produced with high emotional appeal.
Quiz: Flaws in the Electoral College
Given the actual challenges faced by the electoral college system throughout history,
which generalization about the electoral college is most true?
A. Problems related to the system have become more frequent in the 21st century.
B. The biggest fear of the system is that the voters' choices can be overridden.
C. Worries about the House of Representatives determining the outcome of elections are
unfounded.
D. The electors have little power in reality.
[ 11.4 ] Money and Elections
The Price of an Election
• How Much Gets Spent?
• 2012 Presidential election $2.5 billion
• House $1 million/seat
• Senate up to $20 million/seat
• What Does Campaign Money Pay For?
The Price of an Election
Where the Money Comes From
•Individual Contributors
•PACs
•Fundraising
•Government Money
Where the Money Comes From
Born in Texas in 1930, H. Ross Perot became one of America's wealthiest executives. He is best known
for being one of the most successful third-party candidates in American history.
Federal Finance Laws
Arizona Republican Senator John McCain and Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold coauthored
the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.
FEC Requirements
• The Presidential Election Campaign Fund- donate option on
income taxes
• Preconvention Campaigns- must raise at least $100,000 to
qualify for money
• National Conventions- automatically get a federal grant to
pay for the convention
• Presidential Election Campaigns- major parties
automatically qualify for public funding during the general
election
• Minor Party Candidates- in order to qualify for funding the
party must have won at least 5% of the popular vote or
have at least 5% of the vote in the current election
Political Action Committees
(PAC’s)❖ Electioneering wing of interest groups-
campaign for or against candidates, ballot
initiatives, legislation.
❖ Replaced individual contributions, raise funds only
from members.
❖ At least 50 members (voluntary)
❖ Give to at least 5 federal candidates
❖ Must report expenditures
❖ Give most $ to congressional candidates
The Federal Election Commission
(FEC) enforces:
 the timely disclosure of campaign finance
information
 limits on campaign contributions
 limits on campaign expenditures
 provisions for public funding of
presidential campaigns
Campaign Finance Reform
❖ Buckley v. Valeo- Struck down provision of
1974 law that limited how much an individual
candidate could spend of his own $ as violation
of Free Speech.
❖ "Hard money" refers to tightly regulated
contributions to candidates
❖ “Soft money" refers to unregulated, unlimited
contributions to political parties for so-called
"party-building" activities.
Bipartisan Campaign Finance
Reform Act



Banned soft money contributions to national parties
from corporations and unions after the 2002
election
Raised the limit on individual donations to $2,000
per candidate per election
Corporations cannot use their own money for an
advertisement referring to a candidate by name 30
days before a primary and 60 days before a general
election
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Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All
rights reserved.
527 Organizations
A
new source of money under the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
 Designed to permit the kind of soft
money expenditures once made by
political parties
 They can spend their money on politics so
long as they do not coordinate with a
candidate or lobby directly for that person
 527: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
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Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All
rights reserved.
FEC Requirements
FEC Requirements
Wealthy individuals who make very large campaign contributions, such as W. Clement Stone (right),
are often rewarded with access to the candidate or elected official.
Independent-expenditure only
committees a.k.a. Super PAC
❖ The super PACs were made possible by two
court rulings:
❖ Citizens United v. FEC (2010)- The majority held that
under the First Amendment corporate funding of
independent political broadcasts in candidate elections
cannot be limited.
❖ SpeechNow.org v. FEC (2010 US District Court).
❖ The groups can also mount the kind of direct
attacks on candidates that were not allowed in
the past.
Loopholes in Finance Laws
Fundraising happens even in the shadow of the Capitol. Analyze Political Cartoons How can fundraising
be maximized while minimizing the potential for fraud by contributors?
Loopholes in Finance Laws
Interest groups spent large amounts of money in the 2012 election. Analyze ChartsApproximately by
what factor did conservative groups outspend other groups in the 2012 election?
Quiz: The Price of an Election
Why might campaign spending pose a risk to the political process in a democracy?
A.
B.
C.
D.
People of a particular race or ethnicity may have more political influence.
People who are well-educated may have more political influence.
People who know a candidate personally may have more political influence.
People who have more money may have more political influence.
Quiz: Where the Money Comes From
Which of the following is an example of a political action committee (PAC)?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Dairy Farmers of America
Democratic Party
Tea Party
Committee to Elect Barack Obama
Quiz: FEC Requirements
What is the most likely reason why a candidate for president would refuse to accept
money from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund established by the government?
A.
B.
C.
D.
does not believe in spending taxpayer dollars
prefers to remain independent of the government
can raise more money from private sources
does not believe in using advertising to influence the political process
Quiz: Loopholes in Finance Laws
Congress enacted the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
A.
B.
C.
D.
to reduce the amount of hard money received by candidates.
to reduce the amount of soft money received by candidates.
to reduce the amount of political advertising in presidential election years.
to reduce the amount of money the government must spend to subsidize candidates.