HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 38: Campaign Finance In The United States, Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, Federal Election Campaign Act
6 Jun 2018
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Getting Nominated and Campaigning for Office
One of the most famous images in American politics is the smoke-filled room, where the
political bosses met to decide whom they would support. The bosses' power has given way to the
power of the voters, who now decide on their party's nominees. Reforms during the Progressive
Era started the trend toward primary elections, in which voters directly select their party
nominees, a process that was solidified for presidential elections starting in 1972.
Primary elections
A primary is an election in which voters choose the parties' candidates for the general
election. There are two types of primaries. In a closed primary, only a party's
registered voters may vote; in an open primary, registered voters in either party can
participate. Sometimes winning the primary is tantamount to winning the election
because voter registration in the state assembly or congressional district heavily favors
one party or the other. There are often many candidates in a state or municipal primary.
If one candidate does not receive a majority of the votes, the top two usually face each
other in a runoff election.
Nominating a president
Each party nominates its candidate for president at the national convention. While some
of the delegates are still appointed by state party leaders or are elected officials
themselves, most are selected through the primary election or caucus process.
Presidential primaries may be winner-take-all, in which the candidate who gets the most
primary votes gets all the state's delegates, or the delegates may be divided among
several candidates based on their percentage of the vote. In caucus states, delegates
from the local level are selected for the county caucus, and from the county caucus they
go to the state convention. Because of the primaries and caucuses, a party's nominee
for president is really chosen long before the convention held in July or August. An
incumbent president rarely faces a primary challenge, but Jimmy Carter did from Ted
Kennedy in 1980, and so did George Bush in 1992 from Pat Buchanan.
Political campaigns
Because of the importance primaries have assumed, and because most states have
been pushing their primaries earlier and earlier, the political campaign season has
become longer. Candidates may announce their plans to run for president as early as
two years before the election. Combined with the huge role the media play in elections,
the effect of this prolonged season has been to significantly increase the cost of
campaigning for office.
Until 1971, there were no controls on campaign financing. The Federal Election
Campaign Act (1971) and subsequent amendments have limited the amount that both
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Document Summary
One of the most famous images in american politics is the smoke-filled room, where the political bosses met to decide whom they would support. The bosses" power has given way to the power of the voters, who now decide on their party"s nominees. Era started the trend toward primary elections, in which voters directly select their party nominees, a process that was solidified for presidential elections starting in 1972. A primary is an election in which voters choose the parties" candidates for the general election. In a closed primary, only a party"s registered voters may vote; in an open primary, registered voters in either party can participate. Sometimes winning the primary is tantamount to winning the election because voter registration in the state assembly or congressional district heavily favors one party or the other. There are often many candidates in a state or municipal primary.
