GOVT 312: Lecture 15

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GOVT 312 Lecture 15

• (Minor) Party Campaigns

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Minor Parties

• Libertarians A national party interested in
  limited government. In 2000, contested a
  majority of House and Senate races.
• Greens New post-materialist party modeled on
  European Green parties. Have had limited success
  in electing candidates in local elections in
  liberal areas.
• Reform Built on the popularity of Perot, yet to
  see if it can survive as a party.
• Natural Law Believes in rational thought.
  Fielded many candidates in 1996, less in 1998,
  tried to merge with the Reform party in 2000.

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Digression on the Reform Party

• Reform Party is a personality party
• Perot 1992 (18.9), 1996 (8.4)
• Buchanan 2000 (0.5)
• Viable minor parties are those that are organized
  around an issues that are not addressed by the
  major parties, not an individual
• Issue parties
• Protest parties
• Minor parties are effective in New York, because
  the ballot allows fusion parties, candidates
  running under more than one party label

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Viable minor parties (Lowi)

• Must be built from bottom up
• Must be aimed at influencing, not governing
  (since governing is not a realistic possibility)
• Must have dedicated party activists

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Building a third party

• In 1996, Perot embarked on a strategy to make the
  reform party into something bigger than himself.
• Organized state level parties in 50 states
• Created a national convention (delegates selected
  by mail-in voting)
• Had a real opponent for the nomination (though is
  alleged to have rigged the mail-in voting)
• Accepted public financing
• In 2000, bowed out.
• Power vacuum created a bitter nomination battle
  between Hagelin and Buchanan
• Perot did create a party, that was developing
  from the bottom up, but it was destroyed by the
  2000 convention

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Minor Party Supporters (similar to amateur
activists)

• Are more ideological than pragmatic major party
  supporters
• Focused on particular issues
• Particularly differ with major party candidates
  on reform of government

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Candidates

• Profile of Candidates (HG p. 84)
• Major party candidates more likely to have worked
  a campaign, held an appointed government
  position, or worked on government staff.
• Democrats more likely than Republicans to have
  worked as staff
• State legislative candidates more likely to have
  held an appointed government position

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Campaign Finance

• Candidate Financing (HG p. 86)
• Minor Party candidates more likely to
  self-finance their campaigns
• Minor party candidates get no support from their
  party organization
• Minor party candidates get little support from
  PACs (public, unions, or business).
• Moral money follows winners

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Campaign Expenditures

• Campaign Expenditures (HG p.88-89)
• Minor party and state legislative candidates
  spend more money on campaign literature and yard
  signs. All campaigns spend a sizable amount.
• Minor party and state legislative candidates
  spend less money on TV, radio, and newspapers
• State legislative candidates spend more money on
  direct mailing
• Republican congressional and minor party
  candidates spend more on travel
• Congressional campaigns spend more on staff

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Campaign Organization

• Minor party campaigns are almost entirely run by
  volunteers
• Congressional Democrats tend to use more of all
  types of campaign professionals
• Congressional campaigns use more professional
  services

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Campaign Strategy

• Major party candidates stress image over policy
• Minor party candidates stress policy over image
• Minor party candidates reach out to the youth and
  the disaffected
• Minor party candidates tend to stress their own
  stands, rather than compare to other candidates
• Minor party campaigns are not as negative

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Do minor party candidates steal votes from major
party candidates?

• Yes Supporters of minor parties repeatedly
  discuss the relevance of minor party candidates
  in terms of their presence affecting electoral
  outcomes.
• No Voters who vote for minor party candidates
  would otherwise abstain if no minor party
  candidate ran.