ch 9 notes

Chapter 9 Notes


• Of all the institutions that deal with government, the political party has lost the most influence over the past 40 years

• Political party organizations were the primary way in which presidential campaigns were conducted in the 19th and early 20th centuries

• Today, presidential campaign tactics are controlled by a candidate’s personal campaign organization

• Ordinary party voters in the U.S. have far more control over the nomination process than do voters in other democratic countries

• Compared with most West European countries, the U.S. method of holding primary elections to nominate candidates for public office is uncommon; in most west European countries candidates are interviewed and selected by party activists



• Most party candidates for major office in the US are nominated through primary elections

• A closed primary is one in which voters must declare their party affiliation before voting and is the most frequently used

• It has traditionally been thought that democratic and republican primary voters are more liberal and conservative, respectively, than average party members. This thinking has recently been called into question.

• The blanket primary allows voters to select candidates for both parties simultaneously

• Political parties prefer closed primaries because it helps ensure that candidates are chosen by people who share the goals and values of the party

• Presidential candidates are officially nominated at the party convention

• A difference between a caucus and a primary is that the caucus allows voters to debate and exchange views before casting their ballots

• In all Democratic presidential primaries candidates that win at least 15% of the vote divide delegates proportionately

• A meeting of party supporters to choose delegates to attend a subsequent meeting at which party decisions are made is a local caucus

• Since the 1960’s, campaigns have become longer and more media focused, and fund raising is more complex








• The New Hampshire presidential primary gets significant political and media attention because it is the first one to occur each election year

• One consequence of the presidential nominating process in the US is that candidates have their own personal campaign organizations and those who win the nomination do so mainly on their own and owe little or nothing to the national party organization

• A mid-term or off-year election is one in which there is no presidential race

• The 23rd amendment to the Constitution awarded 3 electoral votes to Washington DC

• A state’s votes in the electoral college are equal to the number of its senators and representatives in Congress. This is recalculated every 10 years after the census

• The number of electoral votes needed to win the presidency is 270.

• The greatest danger posed by the electoral college is that the candidate winning the popular vote might not receive a majority of the electoral vote


• Over the last hundred years, the electoral college has magnified the margin of victory that the winner received in the popular vote

• For the last 40 years Democrats have tended to do better in Congressional elections and Republicans in presidential elections

• Incumbent candidates tend to have an advantage over a challenger (money, name recognition, party support)

• The term political context refers to the incumbency status of the candidates, party registrations, and the socioeconomic qualities of the electorate

• The first effective law to regulate campaign was the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

• Candidates running for president can qualify for federal funding by raising $5000 in each of 20 states




















• The Federal Election Commission is a regulatory agency whose purpose is to enforce limits on campaign contributions and administer public funding of campaigns

• Public financing of presidential campaigns began in 1974, primarily to discourage illegal fund raising

• In a general election campaign, presidential nominees may receive twice the primary election limit in public funds if no private funds are used

• One practical effect of public financing of presidential campaigns has been an equalization in the amounts spent by the major candidates in the general election

• A party-centered strategy is appropriate when voters have little political information. It is not appropriate in most primary elections because voters are of the same party

• A basic assumption among campaign managers and political media is that the American people have little interest in politics and a short attention span

• Polling is used to get feedback about the success or failure of various campaign tactics and to discover voters’ perceptions of candidates and voters’ opinions about certain issues

• The first objective of campaign advertising is to produce a high level of candidate name recognition among voters

• The largest amount of spending goes for television and radio spots

• When producing video spots for a candidate, the emphasis is on creation of images and mood



• Party identification is the most important long-term force affecting US elections

• Since the 1950’s party voting has decreased

• The primary importance of the Contract with America was in setting the agenda for the 104th Congres

• Candidates running for president often diverge from the party platform on many issues