Pres. v. Congress. Campaigns

1
Pres. v. Congress. Campaigns

• Nominated (self) vs. selected (party,
  post-primary)
• Party in Europe
• Pres. Races more competitive, fewer vote
• Congress Incumbency 96 reelected (Jacobson)
• Campaign against Washington (centrifugal forces
  Grodzins, Loomis)
• Presidential Getting Mentioned
• Length of time to run//organization/strategy/them
  es
• House now single-member
• Gerrymandering and Malapportionment
• District size/shape at issue court case list
  incl. Reynolds v. Sims 1 person 1 vote, Baker
  v. Carr
• Sophomore surge
• Open vs. closed primary
• Party leaders cant control delegates vs.
  trustees

2
Primary vs. General Campaigns

• Primary Activists more ideological
• Off-term elections lower turnout results in
  higher ideological scores?
• Iowa Caucuses focus media, ideologues
• Kerry?
• Primaries same possibility McGovern
• Position v. Valence issues
• Awareness TV, mail, debates (only challenger
  advantage), internet Dean or Trippis Campaign?
• Gap between running campaign and govt

3
Money

• Presidential private and public funds
• Congressional Usu. Private, unless contest
• Ex. Shays/Farrell
• Public financed
• AZ, ME, VT. Advantage Incumbents
• Campaign Finance Reform
• Watergate, Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
• Solidary benefits
• Primary and general election campaigns separate
• Spending has skyrocketed M. Huffington
• Independent expenditures 527
• Is speech? No
• Overstated impacts VP, abortion, religion
• Congress counts
• Incumbency advantage Congress wont reform
• No PACS return of the fat cats
• Shorter campaigns advantage- incumbents

4
What decides elections?

• Party ID. Why not Dems?
• Dems less tied to party GOP turnout/independents
• V.O. Key self-interested party switchers
• Prospective voters former AP students
• Retrospective voters the masses, wallets
• Campaigns reinvigorate interest
• Theme focus. Kerry?
• Winning a comb. of loyalty and turnout
• Dem. New Deal coalition
• Blacks, Jews less, Hispanics mixed
• Less Catholics/Southerners/union decline
• Reps. Coalition business/prof/occ. farmers

5
Election Outcomes/Partisanship

• Argument
• Public Policy perpetuates, predominantly
• Great Britain dramatic realignments
• Here GRADUAL change, due to Constitutional
  system
• Checks and Balances, separation of powers
• Elections matter over time
• Enduring Questions
• Parties have weakened
• Split-ticket voting, less pty. control,
  fundraising challenges
• Factors
• Strength of economy, candidate popularity, party
  loyalty/ID
• Congressional Campaigns hinge on district lines.
  Result STATE ELECTIONS MATTER