Chapter 14

The Campaign

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2008

American Government: Continuity and Change9th Editionto accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions

O’Connor and Sabato

The Nature of Modern Political Campaigns

• “Campaign” is the military term for an armed struggle to achieve a specific objective.

• No two are the same; dynamic• Despite the unique qualities of each

race, electoral contests are similar in structure, consisting in some form of nomination campaign and a general election.

Nomination Campaign

• That part of a political campaign aimed at winning a primary election– Candidates adjust to pressure of the 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

– Opposition: “In your guts, you know he’s nuts”

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

The Key Players: The Candidate and the Campaign Staff

• Most important aspect of the campaign is the quality of the candidate and the attributes of the campaign team

• Package and project the message requires expertise in media and public relations

• Ability to raise funds– Strong candidate– Experienced campaign staff

The Candidate

• Enter for variety of reasons• Must generate support

– Meet and greet; one-on-one– Media coverage– Exhausting schedule

The Campaign Staff• Volunteer Campaign Staff

– Voter canvas– GOTV

• Candidate’s Professional Staff– Campaign manager– Finance chair– Pollster– Direct Mailer– Communications Director– Press Secretary– Internet Team

• Hired Guns– Campaign consultants– Media consultants

• Personal Advisors

Coverage of the Game: The Media’s Role in Defining the Playing Field

• 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

The New Media

• Technological advances impacted political campaigns

• 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– 1996 Bob Dole– Blogs

Campaign Strategies to Control Media Coverage

• 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

The Rules of the Game: Campaign Finance• Reform

– Tillman Act (1907)– Corrupt Practices, Hatch Act, Taft-Hartley

Act– 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

Current Rules

• Political money is now regulated by the federal government under terms of BCRA of 2002– Outlaws unlimited and unregulated

contributions to parties (soft money) and limits the amounts that individual, interest groups and political parties can give to federal candidates

Sources of Political Contributions• Political money regulated by the federal

government can come from– Individual Contributions– Political Action Committee Contributions– Political Party Contributions– Member-to-Candidate Contributions– Candidates’ Personal Contributions– Public Funds

• Donations from the general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates

• Matching funds• Availability

The Fall of the Soft-Money Loophole and The Rise of the 527 Loophole

• 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• Hard money: legally specified and limited contributions

that are clearly regulated by federal law• 527 political committees: nonprofit and unregulated

interest groups that focus on specific causes or policy positions and attempt to influence voters

The Main Event: The 2004 Presidential Campaign• 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

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

• Theme: A Nation of Courage• Surprise of the convention: Zell Miller, a

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

• New York abounded with protesters.• Bush-Cheney received a modest 2% bounce in

the polls.– Support of 53% of likely voters

Debates, Fall Campaign, and the General Election• Debates

– Tight election made debates very critical– 1st debate watched by 62.5 million viewers– 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.– Bush stayed on message; painting Kerry as a flip-

flopper– Kerry on attack, but then on defensive

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

Election Results

• Bush began to show a convincing lead in Florida.

• Networks remained cautious.• At midnight, made the call for Bush• Ohio remained too close to call.• Later Wednesday morning, Bush

campaign declared victory

Analyzing the Outcome of the 2004 Election• Turnout had been the highest since 1968 with 59.6%

eligible citizens participating.• The major partisan divide is seen as the primary cause

for such high numbers.• In many ways, similar to 2000 election

– Red states remained red and blue states remained blue.– Most of the action took place in a handful of competitive

states.• Was the most expensive presidential race in the

nation’s history– Merely a continuation of longstanding modern trends– 60 million people left the election disappointed.– But the event unfolded without incident as Americans

accepted and took comfort in the results of their nation’s democratic process.