Chapter 5 democracy and participation (elections and ECVs) Flashcards
(43 cards)
why is the US a republic not a democracy
limiting the power and influence of factions
what is the invisible primary?
the months leading up to primaries where presidential candidates drop out due to lack of money and stagnant position in the polls
why did jebb bush suffer in the invisible primary
suffered criticism from trump on Twitter which affected his place in the polls and republican support
in what ways can candidates get themselves ahead in the invisible primary period
- televised debates
(2016 the republicans held 12 debates between candidates) - attrack finance from direct donations, PACS or super PACs
how much did clinton and trump spend on their campaigns. why is this different to other years?
usually winner is the one who spends the most
clinton spent 450 million compared to trump’s 225 million but trump one
however estimates suggest trump beenfitted nearly 2 billion worth of ‘free’ media attention due to contoversial nature
what is a PAC (political action committee)
groups who pool campaign contributions from members and can donate up to £5,000 to campaigns for or against candidates
what is a super PAC
independent expenditure committees and may therefore raise and spend unlimited and unrestricted amounts of money to advocate for or against candidates standing for elected office. but they cant fund straight to candidate
why do incumbents have advantages in their second election
- name recognition
- national attention
- finance bases is secure
- succsessful past history
- voters want to avoid risk. stick to what you know
what is a primary and where is the first one held
intraparty election to determine who will compete on the ballot for the party for president
first primary is in New Hampshire
what is a caucus and where is the first one held
intraparty town hall-style meetings where voters exercise preference for who will represent the party
the first caucus is held in Iowa
what is an open primary (caucuses are the same)
any voter can take part even if they arent a registered memebr of that party
- can only vote in one primary but have to decide if that republican or democrat
- democrats could go to republican primary to vote to tactiaclly weaken and vise versa
arguments in favour of primaries over caucases
quick, less voter apathy
no peer pressure
high turnout more legitimate result
arguments for caucuses
more co-operative
wider group of people supporting are candidate using negotiation
what are delegates
delegates are the people selected to go to the national party convention after primaries to announce who won the vote for the decided candidate in the districts primaries or causacses
how does the democratic and republican parties allocate delegates
democrats primaries and Caucasus select delegates proportionally to the vote that a candidate recieves
republicans more often than not winner takes all
what is fontloading
moving primaries and caucuses forwards to have a more influential say as those states who are later in the calendar may not get an influential say as th decision of the candidate may have already been decided
April 2020 Bernie sanders dropped out leaving only Biden this left 22 states without voting+ illegitimate result
what is super-tuesday and example
process of frontloading can lead to many primaries and caucuses happening on the same say ‘super Tuesday’
largest recorded was 2008 when nearly hald of delegates were decided on this day ‘super duper tuesday’
what are the formal roles of the national party convention
- selecting party candidate and acknowledging vice president
- adopting the party platform and policies that the president campaign will revolve around
informal role of NPC
- seeling the candidate gaining support
(25 million people watcher republican convention in 2016) - party unity and for the vice presideny candidate to back the presidential candidate (except for trump and Cruz in 2016)
what were the battleground states in 2020?
Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
what is the issue with bellweather states
in 2019 94% of events by trump, pence, clintion took places in just 12 bellweather states which effectivley decide the election
how much did Biden spend on 2020 campaign?
1.69 billion
what % do candidates have to have in the polls in order to be on a tele debate
15%
what year did Perot stand as a third-party candidate?
1992 he polled enough to be in tele debate. usually third parties dont get enough support to be in this debate
