Chapter 8/Topic 3: Political Parties, Candidates, and Campaigns

Federalist #10:

The causes of faction are sewn into the nature of man.

• Madison created a government that created a limit on the power of factions.

Political party:

An ongoing coalition of interests joined together to get its candidates for public office elected under a common label.

• Campaigns are both party-centered campaigns and candidate-centered campaigns.

What is the difference party-centered campaigns and candidate-centered campaigns?

Parties compete, but individual candidates devise strategies, choose issues, and form campaign organizations.

What do parties do for citizens?

As linkage institutions serving to connect citizens with the government.

• Party competition narrows voters’ options to two, enabling diverse interests to act in unison.

Did our first president have factions or political parties?

No, he disagreed with the idea of factions or political parties in his farewell address.

• He believed they create despotism and it’s bad for the nation’s health.

Where did America’s first parties orginiate?

Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson

• Focused on strengthening the federal government through national commerce.

Hamilton’s Federalist Party:

Focused on strengthening the federal government through national commerce.

• Election defeat in 1800 ended Federalist control.

Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party:

Focused on small farmers and states’ rights advocates.

• Became the party we know today as the Democratic Party. Policy differences also spilt under Monroe.

What did Monroe focus on for Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party?

Embraced Jefferson’s commitment to the common people.

Under Andrew Jackson what did the Democrats reform into?

Reformed into a grassroots party and led to a four-level increase.

• Organized at the local level and open to all citizens.

What was the party that opposed Andrew Jackson and Democrats?

Whig Party

Did people vote before Andrew Jackson?

No, the public didn’t vote.

When the Whig party spilt was there a slavery issue?

Yes, it largely dominated political competition.

• There was a spilt in the democratic party on the issue of slavery.

In presidential election of 1860 who won?

Northern-based Republicans, calling for the end of slavery.

• Election of Lincoln, who had called for the end of slavery, prompted the southern states to secede from the Union.

Party realignments, periods of extraordinary change:

• Emergence of unusually powerful and divisive issues.

• Election in which voters shift their partisan support.

• Enduring change in the parties’ policies and coalitions.

Are party realignments rare?

Yes, realignments are rare and only occur during periods of extraordinary change.

What are three significant realignments in U.S. History?

• Civil War: Republicans (the “Union Party”) gain control.

• 1896: Republicans solidify control

• 1932: Democrats gain control.

Civil War: Republicans (the “Union Party”) gain control:

Republicans championed federal power and business growth

• Democrats promoted states’ rights and the interests of small farmers, immigrants, and low-wage workers.

1896: Republicans solidify control:

Banking crisis had precipitated a severe depression

1932: Democrats gain control:

The Great Depression helped Democrats gain control.

• Herbert Hoover and his party was blamed for the stock market crash

Today’s Party Alignment:

Control of the South shifted to the Republicans.

• State governments and House seats have also gone mostly to Republicans.

What is one factor that offsets southern losses for democrats?

Democrats offset southern losses with gains in the North.

Is there change with ideologies for both parties?

Yes, the ideological shifts include crime, abortion, drugs, school prayer, and changing sexual and family norms.

• Conservative Christians were the ones most alarmed by social change.

Are parties today polarized?

Yes, perhaps Moreso, than any time since 1860.

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have they remained Republican?

Yes, especially after President’s Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs of the 1960s.

• Conservatives felt the federal government was spending too much and doing too many things better left to the states.

In America how are officials elected?

Elected by winning a plurality(majority) of the votes in single-member districts.

• Candidates who receive the most votes win even if they don’t recieve a majority of votes for the office.

What do single-member systems discourage?

Discourages minor parties by reducing their chances of winning anything.

• Proportional representation system legislative seats are allocated according to the party’s share of the popular vote.

Median voter theorem:

Maximizing votes by appealing to the voter whose references are between the two parties.

Party coalitions:

Groups and interests that support a party.

• Broad and overlapping but far from identical in the Republican and Democratic parties.

Does a gender gap exist in party coalitions?

Only between white men and women.

Whose vote will be key in the future for both parties?

Hispanic vote will be key in the future for both parties.

• Many Hispanics have conservative views on social issues like abortion.

What are three organizational units for Democratic and Republican?

National, State, and Local.

What are the focus of party organizations?

Party organizations focus on the contesting of elections.

• Today, candidates have the lead role.

Did party organizations have nearly complete control at one point?

Yes, especially when it came to selecting nominees, who would then share the spoils of office.

• Introduction of primary elections and changes in the media system have led to this and party bosses losing control.

Party bosses lost their power to primary elections, which gave who control?

Control of nominations to the voters.

• Control shifted to candidates.

Have party organizations lost influence?

Yes, however, they still remain significant.

Local party organizations:

Vary widely in their level of activity; 95% work at this elvel

• Registration drives, disturbuting leaflets, and mobilizing voters to turn out on election day.

State party organizations:

Concentrate on statewide organizational efforts and races. Central committee; chairperson.

• General guidance to the state party organization.

National party organizations:

Power largely confined to setting organizational policy.

• Determining the location of the party’s presidential convention and deciding the rules governing the selection of convention delegates.

Have changes in the media contributed to the shift in control of campaigns?

Yes, it has taken it away from parties. Internet messaging may overatke TV as the principal medium.

• Spend heavily on televised advertising; use the press; engage in debates.

What are four factors that have led to the media having power over campaigns?

Spend heavily on televised advertising; use the press; engage in debates

• Also internet messaging

Election Game:

Requires money— and the money chase is relentless.

• Spending for the Senate and House has dramatically increased since 1980.

Spending for Senate and House candidates:

In 1980, $250M.

In 2020, figure exceeded $2B.

Where incumbents have advantage for the election game?

They access to contributor lists from previous campaigns and the policy influence from holding office.

Hard Money:

Money given directly to the candidate that can be used as they chose.

• Raised from parties, individuals, and interest groups.

Professional political consultants:

Campaign strategists, fundraising specialists, pollsters, and media consultants.

• Key operators in today’s campaigns.

Campaign strategists:

Help a candidate plot and execute a game plan.

Fundraising specialists:

Raising funds and interest groups.

Pollsters:

Identify issues and messages that will resonate with voters.

Media consultants:

Political adverts, generating news coverage, and developing Internet-based strategies.

Packaging:

Highlighting aspects of candidate’s positions and background thought to be attractive to voters.

• Spend more time building up their candidates than tearing down their opponents.

Prospective voting:

Based on a candidate’s promises.

Retrospective voting:

Based on past performance.

Are less than half the states considered competitive?

Yes, Less than half the states and an even smaller number of congressional districts are competitive.

• Campaigns don’t determine who wins or loses.

Advantages of candidate-centered campaigns:

• Can infuse new blood into electoral politics

• Encourage national officeholders to be responsive to local interests

Disadvantages of candidate-centered campaigns:

• Increase the influence of powerful interests and money.

• Weaken accountability—officeholders can deny personal responsibility for government’s actions.