PS 101 1st Edition Lecture 13Outline of Last Lecture I. What are Parties?-Functions of partiesII. Origins of the Modern PartyIII. History of American Parties-Party systemsIV. Ways of Thinking About Parties-In the electorate-As an organization-In governmentV. Why Do We Have A Two Party System?Outline of Current Lecture I. Campaigning in the U.S.-Party-centered campaigns-Candidate-centered campaignsII. Nominations for Congressional Elections-Closed primary-Open primaryIII. Characteristics of Primary Voters-Party ratio-Seat shift-Presidential primary-Caucus IV. The Pre-Convention CampaignV. Consequences of the Current SystemVI. The Electoral College-How it works-EffectsCurrent Lecture: Campaigns & ElectionsI. Campaigning in the U.S.A. Campaigns are1. Organized efforts to persuade voters to choose one candidate over otherscompeting for the same officeB. Difference between party-centered and candidate-centered campaigns?These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.1. Party-centered: A campaign in which the party coordinates activities, raises money, and develops strategies2. Candidate-centered: A campaign in which paid consultants or volunteers coordinate campaign activities, develop strategies, and raise funds. Parties play a secondary role.C. Campaigns for election vs. campaigns for nominationII. Nominations for Congressional ElectionsA. Candidates are selected via a primary electionB. How competitive are primaries?1. If there is an incumbent candidate running, primaries are often uncontested2. If it is an open seat, often very hard foughtC. Types of Primaries1. Closed primarya. Only people who are registered members of a party mayvote2. Open primarya. Anyone may vote in a party’s primary (but can only vote in one)3. Modified open/closed a. Rules for partisans vs independents b. Illinois = semi-closed III. Characteristics of Primary VotersA. Size of the primary electorate1. Typically about 1⁄4 the size of general election electorateB. Compared to general-election only voters 1. More knowledgable and more partisan2. Does this mean their choices are more extreme?a. Their preferences can be more extreme, but they preferthat their candidate is electable, so their votes tend not to be extremeC. Congressional General Elections1. Incumbency advantagea. What proportion of incumbents tend to win?i. 85-95%b. Why might this be a problem? Why might it not?i. It might be a problem because there is a question of accountability since incumbents are holding these seats for a long time, but it may not be a problem because these people may be doing well and that is why they keep getting re-elected2.Party ratioa. The proportion of seats in the House and Senate controlled by Democrats and by Republicans3.Seat shift a. The change in the party ratio between the last election and the current oneRecent Congressional ResultsD. Nomination Process for President1. A mix of primaries, caucuses, and party conventions (states get to decide)2. Primaries and caucuses don’t directly select candidates, but instead select delegates to support candidates at the national conventionE. Delegate Selection Methods1.Presidential primariesa. Most common methodb. Democratic primaries typically use proportional divisionc. Republican primaries traditionally used winner-take-all, but many states switched to proportional in 20122.Caucusesa. Less common method b. Series of meetings at local and state levels to select delegates IV. The Pre-Convention CampaignA. The “invisible primary”1. What is it and what do candidates have to do to win it?a. Not yet the primary season, but candidates are decidingabout running, fundraising, and testing out whether or not they will be successfulB. Actual primaries1. Why so much attention to Iowa and New Hampshire? a. Starts in January of the election year; and because Iowais the first caucus and New Hampshire is the first primary 2. What is “Super Tuesday”?a. Tuesday in late February or early March when a lot of primaries take place C.Front-loading1. What is it?a. States start their primaries earlier and earlier in the election year to draw candidates to their state2. What have the parties done to try to prevent it?a. Link the number of delegates of a state to when they hold their primaryD. The Conventions1. When are they held?a. Late summer, usually two week apart2. What happens? a. Delegates select parties’ nomineesb. Nominee formally accepts and the fall campaigns kick off3.Can we predict the outcome ahead of time?a. In recent years, we can predict the outcome and the convention is more of a coronationV. Consequences of the Current SystemA. Things happen so early and early momentum seems to matter so much, timing and luck can affect who winsB. Candidates favored by most party identifiers tend to win their party's nominationC. Candidates who win the nomination do so largely on their own and owe little or nothing to the national party organizationD. On Election Day1. On the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even- numbered years....a. All seats in the House of Representatives are selected (2year terms)b. One-third of the seats in the Senate are selected (6 yearterms)c. Many statewide offices selected (varying terms)2. On the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every 4 yearsa. The President and vice president are selected (sort of)VI. The Electoral CollegeA. How does it work?1. Each state given one electoral vote for each of its representatives and senators (and DC gets three)2. Some states assign these proportionally, but most use winner-take-all 3. Electors are those chosen to actually vote 4. Electors could technically vote for whomever they wanted, but this is not doneB. How does a candidate win?1. Gets at least 270 of 538 votes2. If no candidate gets a majoritya. House of Representatives decides b. Each state’s delegation gets one vote to choose among top three finishers in the Electoral College votec. Has only happened twice (1800 and 1824)C. Effects of the Electoral College1. Means our elections are actually federal, not national2. Affects how campaigning is done3. Tends to magnify the presidential victory marginPresidential Election ResultsD. Arguments Against the Electoral College1. An elitist anachronism 2. Causes candidates to grant extra weight the the needs of the swing states3. Very