Chapter 13: The Campaign Process
VOCABULARY:
Nomination Campaign: Phase of a political campaign aimed at winning a primary election.
General Election Campaign: Phase of a political campaign aimed at winning election to office.
Campaign Manager: The individual who travels with the candidate and coordinates the campaign.
Finance Chair: The individual who coordinates the financial business of the campaign.
Communications Director: The person who develops the overall media strategy for the candidate.
Press Secretary: The individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily business.
Campaign Consultant: A private-sector professional who sells to a candidate the technologies, services, and strategies required to get that candidate elected.
Pollster: A campaign consultant who conducts public opinion surveys.
Voter Canvass: The process by which a campaign reaches individual voters, either by door to door solicitation or by telephone.
Get-Out-the-Vote: A push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls.
Political Action Committees (PACs): Officially recognized fund raising organizations that represent interest groups and are allowed by federal law to make contributions directly to candidates’ campaigns.
527 Political Committee: Organization created with the primary purpose of influencing electoral outcomes; the term is typically applied only to freestanding interest groups that do not explicitly advocate for the election of a candidate.
501(c) Group: Interest groups whose primary purpose is not electoral politics.
Super PACs: Political action committees established to make independent expenditures.
Independent Expenditures: Spending for campaign activity that is not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign.
Public Funds: Donation from general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates.
Matching Funds: Donations to presidential campaigns whereby every dollar raised from individuals in amounts less that $251 is matched by the federal treasury.
Positive Ad: Advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidate’s qualifications, family, and issue positions, with no direct reference to the opponent.
Negative Ad: Advertising on behalf of a candidate that attacks the opponent’s character or platform.
Contrast Ad: Ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the ad.
Inoculation Ad: Advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched.
*For more practice, visit Quizlet for more practice by pressing the button below.
Nomination Campaign: Phase of a political campaign aimed at winning a primary election.
General Election Campaign: Phase of a political campaign aimed at winning election to office.
Campaign Manager: The individual who travels with the candidate and coordinates the campaign.
Finance Chair: The individual who coordinates the financial business of the campaign.
Communications Director: The person who develops the overall media strategy for the candidate.
Press Secretary: The individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily business.
Campaign Consultant: A private-sector professional who sells to a candidate the technologies, services, and strategies required to get that candidate elected.
Pollster: A campaign consultant who conducts public opinion surveys.
Voter Canvass: The process by which a campaign reaches individual voters, either by door to door solicitation or by telephone.
Get-Out-the-Vote: A push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls.
Political Action Committees (PACs): Officially recognized fund raising organizations that represent interest groups and are allowed by federal law to make contributions directly to candidates’ campaigns.
527 Political Committee: Organization created with the primary purpose of influencing electoral outcomes; the term is typically applied only to freestanding interest groups that do not explicitly advocate for the election of a candidate.
501(c) Group: Interest groups whose primary purpose is not electoral politics.
Super PACs: Political action committees established to make independent expenditures.
Independent Expenditures: Spending for campaign activity that is not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign.
Public Funds: Donation from general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates.
Matching Funds: Donations to presidential campaigns whereby every dollar raised from individuals in amounts less that $251 is matched by the federal treasury.
Positive Ad: Advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidate’s qualifications, family, and issue positions, with no direct reference to the opponent.
Negative Ad: Advertising on behalf of a candidate that attacks the opponent’s character or platform.
Contrast Ad: Ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the ad.
Inoculation Ad: Advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched.
*For more practice, visit Quizlet for more practice by pressing the button below.
SECTION OBJECTIVES:
13.1: Trace the evolution of political campaigns in the United States (pg. 393).
13.2: Assess the role of candidates and their staff in the campaign process (pg. 396).
13.3: Evaluate the ways campaigns raise money (pg. 401).
13.4: Identify the ways campaigns use the media to reach potential voters (pg. 406).
13.5: Analyze the 2012 presidential campaign (pg. 410).
13.1: Trace the evolution of political campaigns in the United States (pg. 393).
13.2: Assess the role of candidates and their staff in the campaign process (pg. 396).
13.3: Evaluate the ways campaigns raise money (pg. 401).
13.4: Identify the ways campaigns use the media to reach potential voters (pg. 406).
13.5: Analyze the 2012 presidential campaign (pg. 410).
SECTION REVIEWS:
13.1 CAMPAIGNS.
In modern campaigns, there is a predictable pathway toward office that involves nomination and general election campaign strategy. At the nomination phase, it is essential for candidates to secure the support of party identifiers, interest groups, and political activists. In the general election, the candidates must focus on the voters and defining their candidacy in terms acceptable to a majority of voters in the district or state.
13.2 ASSEMBLING A CAMPAIGN STAFF.
The candidate makes appearances, meets voters, raises funds, holds press conference, gives speeches, and is ultimately responsible for conveying the campaign message and for the success of the campaign. The candidate relies on a campaign manager, professional staff, and political consultants to coordinate the strategy and message of his or her campaign. Volunteer support is also particularly important for mobilizing citizens and getting out the vote.
13.3 RAISING MONEY.
Since 1970s, campaign financing has been governed by the terms of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). This act was amended in 2002 by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). BCRAa regulates political advertising and funding from a number of sources from which campaigns raise money. REcently, the Supreme Court has begun to chip away at some of the key tenets of the act. In 2010, the Court in Citizens United v. FEC declared unconstitutional BCRA’s ban on electioneering communications made by operations and unions, opening the way for an increase in the power of interest groups and corporations in campaigns and elections.
13.4 REACHING VOTERS.
Candidates and campaigns rely on three main strategies for reaching voters: traditional media coverage (newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio), new media coverage (Internet, blogs, and social media sites), and paid campaign advertisements. Traditional media coverage is the most difficult for candidates to control.
13.5 TOWARD REFORM: THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
Incumbent President Barack Obama was unchallenged for the 2012 Democratic nomination for president, while Mitt Romney emerged as the winner of a contentious Republican primary process. Nevertheless, polls indicated that the race for the presidency was consistently within the margin of error. But, the week before Election Day, a, a disastrous hurricane struck the Eastern Seaboard, putting the president on center stage. With the exception of Indiana and North Carolina. President Obama won reelection with exactly the same states he won in 2008 and largely with the same coalition he had assembled four years earlier.
13.1 CAMPAIGNS.
In modern campaigns, there is a predictable pathway toward office that involves nomination and general election campaign strategy. At the nomination phase, it is essential for candidates to secure the support of party identifiers, interest groups, and political activists. In the general election, the candidates must focus on the voters and defining their candidacy in terms acceptable to a majority of voters in the district or state.
13.2 ASSEMBLING A CAMPAIGN STAFF.
The candidate makes appearances, meets voters, raises funds, holds press conference, gives speeches, and is ultimately responsible for conveying the campaign message and for the success of the campaign. The candidate relies on a campaign manager, professional staff, and political consultants to coordinate the strategy and message of his or her campaign. Volunteer support is also particularly important for mobilizing citizens and getting out the vote.
13.3 RAISING MONEY.
Since 1970s, campaign financing has been governed by the terms of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). This act was amended in 2002 by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). BCRAa regulates political advertising and funding from a number of sources from which campaigns raise money. REcently, the Supreme Court has begun to chip away at some of the key tenets of the act. In 2010, the Court in Citizens United v. FEC declared unconstitutional BCRA’s ban on electioneering communications made by operations and unions, opening the way for an increase in the power of interest groups and corporations in campaigns and elections.
13.4 REACHING VOTERS.
Candidates and campaigns rely on three main strategies for reaching voters: traditional media coverage (newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio), new media coverage (Internet, blogs, and social media sites), and paid campaign advertisements. Traditional media coverage is the most difficult for candidates to control.
13.5 TOWARD REFORM: THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
Incumbent President Barack Obama was unchallenged for the 2012 Democratic nomination for president, while Mitt Romney emerged as the winner of a contentious Republican primary process. Nevertheless, polls indicated that the race for the presidency was consistently within the margin of error. But, the week before Election Day, a, a disastrous hurricane struck the Eastern Seaboard, putting the president on center stage. With the exception of Indiana and North Carolina. President Obama won reelection with exactly the same states he won in 2008 and largely with the same coalition he had assembled four years earlier.
CRITICAL QUESTIONS:
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.
1. How have the sources of outside funds changed over the last several elections? What events explain these changes?
2. Why do you think Republican groups spent larger sums of money than Democratic groups? How do Democrats raise and spend money for campaigns?
3. Is further campaign finance reform necessary? Why or why not?
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS.
1. What role do campaign staff play?
-Staff assist the candidate which much of the day to day work of running a political campaign. Here, presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a meeting on his campaign bus with senior advisors Stuart Stevens and Eric Ferhnstrom and campaign manager Beth Myers.
2. Why are political campaigns important?
-Political campaigns help voters to make informed choices on Election Day. They do this through a complex set of political tools, including media signs and slogans.
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.
1. How have the sources of outside funds changed over the last several elections? What events explain these changes?
2. Why do you think Republican groups spent larger sums of money than Democratic groups? How do Democrats raise and spend money for campaigns?
3. Is further campaign finance reform necessary? Why or why not?
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS.
1. What role do campaign staff play?
-Staff assist the candidate which much of the day to day work of running a political campaign. Here, presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a meeting on his campaign bus with senior advisors Stuart Stevens and Eric Ferhnstrom and campaign manager Beth Myers.
2. Why are political campaigns important?
-Political campaigns help voters to make informed choices on Election Day. They do this through a complex set of political tools, including media signs and slogans.
INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS
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LINK.
Want a quick and easy review on how the President gets elected?
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Want a quick and easy review on how the President gets elected?
Visit: www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0878225.html OR click on the link below!