Campaigns, Elections, and the MediaChapter 9

Why Run for Political Office? Logic of Elective Offices

The higher the office, the more people are likely to run for it Ex. Not a lot turn out to run for McLennan Co. Justice of the Peace, but

a considerable number always turn out to run for Mayor of Waco

Why do people run for president or high offices? Self-starters – people who voluntarily get involved in politics to

further their careers, programs, or in response to certain events Some run for office once or twice, some are long-term politicians

Recruits – people already involved in politics who are recruited by their parties to run for office

Primaries and Elections Primary Elections

Election in which political parties choose their candidates for the general election

Presidential Primaries Statewide primary election of delegates to a political party’s

national convention, held to determine a party’s presidential nominee

General Election Election normally held on the first Tuesday in November that

determines who will fill various elected positions

Primary Elections Expanded Caucus

Meeting of party members designed to select candidates and propose policies

Some states use this to select candidates for various offices Direct Primary

Primary election in which voters decide party nominations by voting directly for candidates

Used often in state or local elections Indirect Primary

Primary election in which voters choose convention delegates and the delegates pick the party’s candidate in the general election

Used almost exclusively in presidential elections

Primary Elections Expanded Closed Primary

Type of primary in which the voter is limited to choosing candidates of the party of which he/she is a member

Basically, voters must declare party affiliation when they register to vote or at the election site

Open Primary Primary in which any registered voter can vote without declaring

party affiliation However, they must vote for candidates of only one party

The Electoral College In presidential elections, people do not directly vote for the

president and vice president Actually voting for electors who will cast their ballot in the

Electoral College Electors – members of the Electoral College, which selects the

president and vice president; each state’s electors are chosen in each presidential election according to state laws

Number of electors 538 equal to 100 senators, 435 House members, and 3 electors

for the District of Columbia

The Electoral College Candidates who receive a majority of the electoral votes (270)

are certified as president-elect and vice president-elect in January

What if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote? The House selects from the presidential candidates with the three

highest number of votes (each state has one vote; decided by a plurality of each state delegation)

The Senate determines the vice president in a choice between the two candidates with the most votes (each senator has one vote)

How to Win a Campaign Hire a Political Consultant

Paid profession hired to devise a campaign strategy and manage a campaign

Thinks up a campaign theme, oversees advertising, chooses campaign colors, and the candidate’s official portrait

Capturing Votes Win all the votes of your party’s supporters Convince a majority of the independent’s that you’re the better choice Attempt to gain a few votes from the opposition party

It’s all about image Candidate visibility, the message, and the campaign strategy

How to Win a Campaign Candidate visibility

Name recognition If you’re already known and part of a major party; keep up the good work If you’re a third party candidate, you have to seriously undermine the major

party candidates

Opinion Polls and Focus Groups Everyone relies on them during election season; candidates have

private polls ran to make sure they have a remote chance of winning Focus Groups – small group of individuals who are led in discussion by

a professional consultant in order to gather opinions on and responses to candidates and issues Recent campaign focuses: “soccer moms,” “Wal-Mart shoppers,” and

“NASCAR dads”

Financing the Campaign Total Spending for 2007-2008: $4.14 billion

Presidential Candidates -- $2.4 billion Avg. Senate incumbent -- $13 million Avg. Senate challenger -- $5 million Avg. House incumbent -- $1.7 million Avg. House challenger -- $700,000

Who funds candidates? Candidates, their families, borrowed money, or contributions from

individuals and Political Action Committees A committee set up by and representing a corporation, labor union, or special

interest group; PACS raise money and give campaign donations

Regulating Campaign Financing Campaign Finance Regulation

Federal Corrupt Practices Acts – series of acts passed by Congress in an attempt to limit and regulate the size and sources of contributions and expenditures in political campaigns

Hatch Act – passed in 1939 to restrict the political activities of government employees Prohibited political groups from spending more than $3 million in any

campaign Restricted individual contributions to a campaign committee to $5,000

Regulating Campaign Financing Campaign Finance Regulation

Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 Replaced all past laws No limit on overall spending, but restricted the amount that could be

spent on mass media advertising Disclosure required of all contributors who spent over $100 in political

campaigns Provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections Established the Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Overall, it attempted to limit the influence of labor unions and corporations

Types of Contributions Hard Money – money donated by individuals and parties to

campaigns and PACs; strictly regulated by the FEC

Soft Money – contributions unregulated by federal or state law; usually given to parties and PACs to help fund general party activities Outlawed after 2002

Independent Expenditures – non-regulated contributions from PACs, organizations, and individuals Funds may be spent on advertising or other campaign activates so long

as those expenditures are not coordinated with those of a candidate

TV’s Influence on the Political Process Opinion: TV News is superficial compared to newspapers

and magazines Fact: TV is technically limited by time; stories must be

reported in only a few minutes How are political stories chosen?

Well-constructed storylines garner viewers The story should be short, have a clear plot, and pictures In the extreme, sound bites are used to immediately have an impact on

the viewer Sound bites – brief, memorable comment that can easily fit into

news broadcasts

TV’s Influence on the Political Process Negative Advertising

“You shouldn’t vote for Candidate B because …” “Vote for Candidate A in November

LBJ’s Daisy Ad is a classic example of negative advertising

Does negative advertising work? The public claims to not like it Consultants claim it works

Negative advertising can backfire Studies show that the attacking candidate and the candidate who is attacked

can be viewed negatively by the public This helps boost the chances of a third candidate

TV’s Influence on the Political Process Management of News Coverage

Coverage by the news media is free

Candidates needs to make sure the coverage takes place and hopefully convince reporters that their interpretation of events is true (a.k.a. “spin”) Spin – an interpretation of campaign events or election results that is

favorable to the candidate’s campaign strategy

To successfully do this, candidates often hire spin doctors Political campaign adviser who tries to convince journalists of the truth

of a particular interpretation of events

Bias in the Media What is Bias?

An inclination or preference that interferes with impartial judgment

Liberal Bias in the Media Argument Mainstream media has a long history of liberal bias Some argue that it comes naturally to reporters Stephen Colbert – “Reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

Conservative Bias in the Media Argument Mainstream media has a well-known conservative bias, especially when

dealing with economic issues Talk radio increasingly conservative “image bites” (charts and graphs) more in favor of Republican views

Bias in the Media Drama Theory

Mainstream media is really biased towards stories that involve conflict and drama (often takes a liberal bent)

Loser Theory Mainstream media is really biased towards political losers The more a candidate falls behind in a race, the more negative

coverage they receive Election of 2008 a prime example

Is bias just a fixture of the media in general?

Threats to Traditional Media Blogging

Regular update of one’s ideas on a specific website Politicians have readily taken advantage of blogging

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace all incorporate forms of blogging

Podcasting Method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio or video files,

for downloading onto mobile devices or personal computers YouTube is a prime example Candidates in the 2008 and 2010 election cycle heavily relied on

outlets like YouTube and other forms of podcasting to reach voters