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The Making of the President

a.k.a, The Steps to Electing the President

There are 7 steps involved in electing the President…

• All campaigns have the basic 5 steps, but Presidential elections, since they are for

such an important office, have a few extras…

The basic steps are…1. Self-nomination2. Campaign to win party nomination

- “Win Primaries and Caucuses”3. National Nominating Convention4. Campaign to win General Election5. General Election6. Electoral College meets and votes7. Inauguration

Step 1: Self-Nomination• Candidates for the

presidency usually nominate themselves

• This occurs up to 2 years before the General Election

• They may form an “exploratory committee” to find out if they have what it takes to be president

• This committee really exists to find out the answer to 2 questions:1. Do people like the candidate?2. Will they contribute $$ to the campaign?

Some examples of those who threw their “hat in the ring” in

2008…John Edwards,

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton for the Democrats…

Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Rudy Guiliani for the Republicans…

Step 2: Campaign to Win Your Party’s Nomination for Prez

• Both fields of Democratic and Republican candidates campaign across the country.– They are trying to win votes in

each state.

• Each state has a part in choosing the candidates from each party

• Occurs winter and spring before the General Election (of 2012)

Step 2: Campaign to Win Your Party’s Nomination for Prez

• Each state uses 1 of 2 methods to select its citizens’ preferred candidate from each party

• Primaries – voters in a state choose candidate they like the best

• Open – anyone in state can vote• Closed - only party members can vote to choose from their

party’s candidates (**most states use this primary method)• Caucuses –

– a set of meetings, at the local, county and then state levels, where party delegates choose a candidate

Democratic Party Primaries/Caucuses

for the 2008 election• January 14th, 2008 - Iowa caucus• January 15th – Michigan (most candidates boycotted; won by Clinton)• January 19th - Nevada caucus• January 22nd - New Hampshire primary (1st in nation)• January 29th – South Carolina

– Florida (most candidates boycotted; won by Clinton)• February 5 (SUPER TUESDAY)

– Alabama, Alaska caucus, Arizona, California, Colorado caucus, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho caucus, Illinois, Kansas caucus, Minnesota caucus, Missouri , New Jersey, New Mexico caucus, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah

• **April 22nd - Pennsylvania • June 3 – South Dakota, Montana

Republican Primaries/ Caucuses for the 2008

election• January 3rd, 2008 – Iowa caucus • January 5th – Wyoming (half of delegates to NNC; others “unbound”)• January 15th – Michigan• January 19th – South Carolina, Nevada• January 22nd - New Hampshire primary (used to be first)• January 29th - Florida• February 5 (SUPER TUESDAY)-

– Alabama, Alaska , Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado , Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas , Minnesota, Missouri, Montana , New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia

• **April 22nd – Pennsylvania• June 3rd – South Dakota (last)

Super Tuesday

– Many states had both their 2008 Democratic and Republican primaries on that day….• Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Missouri, New Jersey,

New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia

– Candidates can take a huge lead, become a front-runner, or find out they may not have “the right stuff”

Name for the day in a presidential campaign when many states hold their primaries.

In the 2008 campaign, Super Tuesday fell on February 5th (usually in February)

The goal of all of these primaries and caucuses is for the field of candidates to

be narrowed down…

– Each state can send a certain number of delegates to the Republican and Democratic National Nominating Conventions• (…to choose their party’s candidate officially)

• If a candidate wins a state’s Primary or Caucus, supporters of the candidate become that state’s delegates to the NNC.

Step 3: The National Nominating Convention

• Held in the mid/late summer of the election year (August/September 2008)

• Delegates from the states decide 2 issues– Candidate to run in the General Election – Party Platform (party’s stance on the

issues)

The National Nominating Conventions

• Republican National Convention – – August 27 – 30th, 2012 in Tampa, FL

• Democratic National Convention – – September 3rd to 6th, 2012 in a location TBA

Which candidate do you think gains an advantage due to this order?

Step 4: The Presidential

Campaign Trail

• Many different methods are used to sway voters for one candidate or the other…– Political Ads– Televised debates– Travel/campaigning/ “stumping”

• As you can imagine, these campaigns can get pricey…

September thru November of the election year

The Co$ts of Running• The 2008 campaign was one of the

most expensive in history

Both Barack Obama and John McCain have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to run for the

highest office in the land…Obama = $450mMcCain = $370m

Step 5: The General Election

• Takes place on the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in Nov.

• Voters turn out to cast their ballots for President/VP and for many other offices as well

– But…when voting for President, they are NOT actually casting their ballots for the candidates.

Step 5: The General Election

– But…when voting for President, they are NOT actually casting their ballots for the candidates.

• Here is where the Electoral College comes in…

Takes place on the same day every year1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in Nov.Next presidential general election?Voters turn out to cast their ballots for President/VP and for many other offices as well

Step 5: The General Election (Electoral College)

• When voters in each state cast their votes for Prez/VP, they are actually voting for a political party’s slate of electors– This is a group of “electors”

(people who will cast a ballot) from a political party in each state

• THESE PEOPLE actually get to cast the “REAL” votes for President and VP

• These votes are known as Electoral Votes, since they actually elect the president.

Each state has a certain number of Electoral Votes

# of EV’s = # of Sens + # of Reps

Projected Electoral Map - 2012

The Electoral College – How does it work?

• The winner of each state’s popular vote (the vote of the people) has all of their electors chosen to cast their votes for President and VP.– This is called the “winner-take-all” method

(**ME, NE)

For example:• In 2008, the popular vote in PA turned out this

way:John BarackMcCain Obama2,655,855 (44%) 3,276,363

(56%)•Who won PA’s electoral votes?

•Whose electors would be chosen?

The Electoral College• The number of electoral votes each state

has can change…– As each census changes the # of Reps., it

also impacts the # of electoral votes

But…the total number of electoral votes is always…

538Why this #?

Changes after the 2000 Census

Step 6: Electoral College meets and votes

• Where do the electors gather to cast their votes?– How many does the candidate need to win?

– What if there is a tie?

The Electoral College

• Must all electors vote for the popular vote winner in their state?– Give a reason why they would be very likely

to vote for the popular vote winner in their state…

• **Most electors do vote for the popular vote winner…but a few have not…

Step 7: The Inauguration• Occurs on January 20th of

the year following the election– Sworn in by the Chief

Justice of the Supreme Court

The oath of office…

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability,

preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."