Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Chapter 14 The Campaign Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 American...

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Chapter 14

The Campaign


American Government2006 EditionTo accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions

O’Connor and Sabato


The Structure of a Campaign

• All campaigns have common characteristics.– Each election campaign consists of several

smaller campaigns that balance one another.• Nomination Campaign• General Election Campaign• Personal Campaign• Organizational Campaign• Media Campaign


Nomination Campaign

• That part of a political campaign aimed at winning a primary election– Candidates adjust to spotlight– Seek the support of party leaders and interest

groups, test themes, and slogan– Critical time for gaining and maintaining support

within the party and the broader electorate– Candidate must be careful not to move too far to

his/her party’s extreme during the nomination campaign. Could be harmful during the general election.


General Election Campaign• Part of a political campaign aimed at winning

the general election– Occurs after candidate has won party’s nomination– Focus on gaining support from groups and voters– Decide on issues to emphasize– Adopt a brief theme to serve as rallying cry

• “A Stronger America” – 2004 Kerry/Edwards• “In Your Heart, You Know He’s Right” – 1964 Goldwater

– Candidate must also define his or her stance on other topics of interest to voters.


Bush Campaign Organization


The Personal Campaign

• That part of the political campaign concerned with presenting the candidate’s public image– Candidates try to meet as many people as

possible.– Exhausting schedule– Little time for family, reflection, or long-

range planning


The Organizational Campaign• That part of the political campaign

involved in fund-raising, literature distribution, and all other activities not directly involving the candidate– Organizational activity funds and supports

the campaign– Volunteers

• Voter canvas: process by which a campaign reaches individual voters, either by door-to-door solicitation or by telephone.


The Organizational Campaign• GOTV

– a push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls

• Campaign manager– the individual who travels with the candidate and

coordinates the many different aspects of the campaign

• Campaign consultant– the private sector professionals and firms who sell to a

candidate the technologies, services, and strategies required to get the candidate elected

• Finance chair– a professional who coordinates the fund-raising efforts for

the campaign.


The Organizational Campaign• Finance chair

– A professional who coordinates the fund-raising efforts for the campaign

• Pollster– A professional who takes public opinion surveys that guide

political campaigns• Direct Mailer

– A professional who supervises a political campaign’s direct-mail fund-raising activities

Do consultants strip the campaign of substance? Reduce them to a clever bag of tricks for sale?Can voters tell the difference between a good candidate versus a bad one?


The Media Campaign

• That part of the political campaign in which the candidate reaches out to the voters, in person or via the media, to create a positive impression and gain votes– Communication director: develops the

overall media strategy.– Press secretary: interacts and

communicates with journalists.– Media consultant: produces candidate’s

television, radio, and print ads.


The Media and Campaigns

• What voters hear and see of the candidate is primarily determined by– Paid media– Free media

• The amount, form, and content of paid media are dictated by the campaign.

• Free media consists of independent press coverage.


Paid Media

• Positive ad– Advertising on behalf of a candidate that

stresses the candidate’s qualifications, family, and issue positions, without reference to the opponent

• Negative ad– Advertising on behalf of a candidate that

attacks the opponent’s platform or character


Paid Media

• Contrast ad– Ad that compares the records and proposals of the

candidates, with a bias toward the sponsor

• Spot ad– Television advertising on behalf of a candidate that is

broadcast in sixty-, thirty-, or ten-second duration

• Inoculation ad– Advertising that attempts to counteract an

anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched


Free Media

• Coverage of the campaign– Newsworthy – View candidates with suspicion– Obsessed with the “horserace”– Expectations and predictions


Campaign Media Strategies

• Isolate candidate from the press• Campaign stages media events• Spin• Circumvent press with

entertainment-oriented talk shows – a less critical forum

• Take great care with debates


Technology and Campaign Strategy• Technological advances impacted

political campaigns• Direct access to voters• Can gather and disseminate information

better than ever– Rapid-response techniques

• The formation of prompt and informed responses to changing events on the campaign battlefield

• Internet• Recorded phone messages


Campaign Finance

• Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

• Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act 2002– McConnell versus FEC

• Concluded that the government’s interest in preventing political-party corruption overrides the free speech rights to which the parties would otherwise be entitled


Sources of Political Contributions• Political money regulated by the federal

government (FECA 1971). This money can come from– Individual Contributions– Political Action Committee Contributions– Political Party Contributions– Member-to-Candidate Contributions– Candidates’ Personal Contributions– Public Funds– Independent Expenditures


Growth in Total Contributions by PACs


Expenditures by PACs in 2004 Election Cycle


PACs


Internet

• Has the potential to alter the way money is raised for campaigns.– McCain 2000– Dean 2004

• Promises headaches for FEC– Business links with campaign link? Are these

in-kind contributions?• Yes

– Can internet funds be matched by public funds during the presidential nomination campaign?

• No


Soft Money and Issue Advocacy Advertisements• Soft Money

– The virtually unregulated money funneled by individuals and political committees through state and local parties

– Now prohibited under BCRA– Result: Hard money fundraising

increased and the emergence of 527s


How the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 Alters Money Flow


Are PACs Good or Bad for the Process?• The Bad

– PACs are the embodiment of corrupt special interests that use their contributions to buy votes of legislators.

• Evidence is mixed

– Moreover, the less affluent and minority members of our society do not enjoy equal access to these political organizations.


Future Campaign Finance Reform• Did soft money disappear?

– Much has shown up in new 527 political committees• Media Fund• Americans Coming Together

– Visible in both parties– Require disclosure and sunshine


Bringing It Together: The 2004 Campaign and Elections• The 2004 election for president

may go down in history as one of the most divisive.– A month before the election only 3%

undecided.– Heated race between incumbent

President, George W. Bush and Massachusetts Senator, John Kerry.


The Party Nomination Battle

• No significant opposition to Bush in the Republican primaries.

• Democrats had 10 candidates competing for the nomination.– Dynamic campaign resolved in March

with John Kerry as the nominee.


2004 Democratic Candidates and Their Strategies


The Third Force

• Ralph Nader– Had a significant impact on the 2000

Presidential Election• Nader had received over 97,000 votes in Florida

in 2000. These were far more than the 537 that Gore needed to win Florida and win the election.

– His entry in 2004 viewed as good for Bush but bad for Kerry

– Had a relatively small impact in 2004• 1 percent nationally; not enough to swing any

states.


The Democratic Convention

• Kerry announced his choice for vice-president 20 days before the start of the convention.– Not since Ronald Reagan in 1980 had a nominee picked a

primary rival as a running mate.– Also the earliest vice presidential selection in a modern

presidential campaign.– Attempt to balance the ticket.

• Theme of convention: Respected abroad, stronger at home.

• Solid performance, but Kerry-Edwards did not receive a significant post-convention “bounce.”– This was unusual; not since McGovern in 1972 had this

happened.– Explanation: no room for bounce; already a very close

race.


The Republican Convention

• Question for many? Would Cheney continue as Vice-President?

• Answer was yes.• Surprise of the convention: Zell Miller, a

Democratic member of the U.S. Senate gave a heated speech that was critical of Kerry.

• Bush speech interrupted twice by hecklers.• New York abounded with protesters.• Bush-Cheney received a modest 2% bounce in

the polls.


The General Election

• Debates– Tight election made debates very critical– 30 pages of rules for the networks, moderators, and

candidates– Kerry thought to have won first debate and did well

in subsequent ones.• Impact: leveled the playing field

• Much of campaign activity focused in swing states

• Results: Long night and no decision until the morning with Bush carrying the election.

• Turnout had been the highest since 1968 with 59.6% eligible citizens participating


2004 Election Results

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Chapter 14 The Campaign Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 American...

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