Informal sources of presidential power: The electoral mandate Flashcards
What is the electoral mandate?
The permission granted to the president by the people to govern on their behalf - it is in effect for as long as the government is in power
Why is a larger electoral mandate better for the president?
It increases the chances that they can convince Congress to pass their legislative agenda
Why was Reagan in such a strong position after his 1984 re-election?
He won 59% of the popular vote and secured victory in 49 states
Why were Clinton and Bush jr in weak positions at the start of their first term?
Clinton only won 43% of the popular vote and Bush had actually lost the popular vote to his opponent, Al Gore, with suspicions of electoral fraud afoot
Why do some people think the 2000 presidential election was rigged?
Because whether or not Bush became president depended upon whether or not Bush won Florida, and the governor of Florida at the time was his brother, Jeb Bush
What does the current era of hyper partisanship mean for presidents?
That they are less likely to sweep an electoral landslide
Give three examples of presidents who secured an electoral landslide
- LBJ in 1964
- Nixon in 1972
- Reagan in 1984
Give a statistic to show the weakness of mandates since 1984
No president has won more than 55% of the popular vote since Reagan
How did Trump have a poor electoral mandate?
He had to deal with not only falling well short of 50% of the popular vote, but gaining 3 million votes less than Clinton
Why was Trump wrong to talk about his ‘electoral college landslide?
Because his electoral mandate in numerical terms was weak
Why would a president in the modern era still struggle even if they had a strong electoral mandate?
Because in the modern era of party polarisation, a president with a strong mandate would struggle to convince a divided government to pass legislation
How did Biden disprove the idea that a strong electoral mandate is essential?
Because despite coming to power with just 51% of the popular vote, he still got off to a strong start, passing his American Rescue Plan
