Transcript Election Campaigns

Campaign
Strategy
Campaigns & Elections
Unit
Getting Ahead Early
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Campaigns start nearly
a year out in advance
of election if not
earlier.
Strong showings
needed earlycandidate must do
well in both Iowa and
New Hampshire to
make a solid push for
the presidency.
Iowa Caucus
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Iowa Caucus
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Must do well here otherwise lose media attention and
financers necessary for successful campaign
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First electoral event of presidential campaign
Disproportionate amount of media attention vs. amount of
delegates are elected from Iowa
2012 winner – Mitt Romney
Winners tend to be very liberal Democrats or very
conservative Republicans
New Hampshire Primary
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First primary of presidential election campaign
Known for massive amounts of media coverage
The momentum of a win in New Hampshire
can propel candidates to the nomination
A New Hampshire loss or poor showing can
often force candidates to drop out of the race
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2012 winner – Mitt Romney
Campaign Strategies
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Deciding which states to focus resources on is
essential. Swing states (13) usually draw most
attention- Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio.
How much $ should be spent on different types
of advertising?
What issues need to be stressed? Look at current
events.
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2012 key ones?
Advertising
Mediums of the
Campaign Trail
Gaining notice and
popularity
The Campaign Run
 Political
Ads start- with the official
opening of the mud-slinging season
 Attack Ads help increase voter turnout
 Allows the voters a deeper look into
the character of the candidate
Using the Airwaves
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Paid Advertisements (TV and Radio)
 Best way to reach people
 Lesser known candidates can boost their
popularity
 Has greater effect in the primaries then
in general election
 TV leads people to relying on popular
images and symbols
News Broadcasts and TV Shows
Very low cost to candidates
 Has greater credibility with voters
 Pick and choose which programs to be
“guests” on
 Can be less informative though.
 Examples: Barack Obama on Ellen
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Internet
Each candidate has own website
 Makes direct mailings campaigns possible,
easy way to raise money
 Allows access to specific voters via email
 Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Websites, etc.
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 15
million American FB users in 2008
 60 million American FB users in 2012
 9 million tweets during Pres. Obama’s speech
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57,000+ per minute #DNC2012
Political Debates
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Provides advantage to
the challengers- ability
to be seen and heard
from
Slip of tongue during
debates can hurt you.
– Rick Perry
Appearance of
individual can help or
hurt as well