The Campaign The Structure of a Campaign All

The Campaign

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 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

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 longrange 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 directmail 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 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

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 – Mc. Connell 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 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Internet • Has the potential to alter the way money is raised for campaigns. – Mc. Cain 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 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

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 527 s

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.