Lesson 1: The Primaries

Transcription

1 Presidential Elections Unit Study Lesson 1: The Primaries Lesson Presidential elections in the United States are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020). On Election Day, citizens vote to select the next president of the United States. When citizens vote on the Election Day, they will choose the one candidate they think will make the best president. A candidate is a person running for an office, in this case the presidency. In this lesson, we will take a look at the first steps the candidates must take in the long, grueling, complicated, and fascinating road to the White House. Presidential Candidates The U.S. Constitution, which is the highest law in the land, sets rules for who can be president. A president must Be at least thirty-five years old; Be a natural born citizen of the U.S.; Have lived in the U.S. for fourteen years. A president is elected to serve for four years. That four-year period is called a term. A president can only be elected to two terms. Oldest and Youngest Presidents Elected Ronald Reagan was the oldest president ever elected. He was seventythree years old when he won re-election in John F. Kennedy was the youngest president ever elected. He was forty-three years old when he was elected president in There used to be no limits on the number a terms a president could serve. The Constitution was changed in 1951 after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to a record four terms as president! He ran in and won the elections of 1932, 1936, 1940, and Before they were elected, most recent presidents served as governors, U.S. vice presidents, or senators. Governors have made very good presidential candidates. In the elections from 1976 to 2004, Americans elected only one Silverdale Press Franklin D. Roosevelt Page 1 of 9

2 president who was not a governor: George H.W. Bush in Bush served as vice president under President Ronald Reagan. In 2008, Barack Obama was the first senator elected since John F. Kennedy in But a candidate does not have to have held any of these posts in order to become president. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a military hero and a well-known American but never had been elected to a public office. He served as Supreme Allied Commander in World War II. He was so popular, American citizens pressured him into running in Dwight D. Eisenhower The Primary versus General Election The presidential election season can be divided into two parts: the primary election and the general election. The goal of the primary election is to select one individual from each political party to compete in the general election. In the U.S., we have two major political parties: Republicans and Democrats. In the primary election, party members complete against each other. Democrats compete against other Democrats. Republicans compete against other Republicans. The winner of each party s primary becomes its nominee. The nominee is the person who has been chosen by the party run in the general election. The primary season lasts about the first half of a presidential election year. During that time, each party will hold a contest in every state. The contests are not all held on the same day. For example, in 2016, the primary season lasted from February until June. The first contest, the Iowa caucus, was held on February 1, The last contest, the District of Columbia Democratic primary, was on June 14, (We ll talk about the difference between a primary and a caucus later in this lesson). After the last contest, each party holds a national meeting, called a convention, when the winner, the nominee, accepts the nomination. After the conventions, we move into the general election season. We will learn more about conventions in Lesson 2. For now, just know that the parties usually hold their conventions in the summer or early fall. The general election season lasts through the fall months and ends on Election Day in November. The purpose of the general election is to select the candidate who will actually hold the office. A Republican will compete against a Democrat and maybe some candidates from other parties. The winner of the general election will become president! Silverdale Press Page 2 of 9

3 Invisible Primary Months and even years before the first vote is cast in the primary season, candidates begin preparing for the primaries. This season is called the invisible primary. It is called invisible because much of the work is done out of the public eye. Candidates must start the invisible primary early to have a shot at the nomination. What do candidates do during the invisible primary? Raise money. Candidates must fundraise. They need money to build and run their operations and pay for advertisements. The candidates travel to rich areas of the country to ask for money. Get noticed. Candidates also try to get noticed by the media television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet so that citizens will begin to recognize their names. Gather endorsements. An endorsement is statement saying that a person or group supports a certain candidate. Candidates try to collect endorsements from groups, other politicians, and even celebrities. Iowa and New Hampshire First in the Nation As we have learned, the primary season includes contests by each party in every state. The first state contest is the Iowa caucus (the first in the nation ). One key thing to know about the primary season: states that vote earlier have much more influence on who ends up winning than states that vote later. Iowa and New Hampshire are the most important states in the primary season because they are the earliest. How did Iowa get to be first? It came about accidentally. In the early 1970s, Democrats and Republicans established the modern primary system, which required each state to hold its own primary contest. Iowa Democrats had rules that required a certain number of days between party meetings. So, Iowa Democrats scheduled their caucus in January to comply with these rules. Iowa Republicans soon did the same. Jimmy Who? and The Big Mo In 1976, Jimmy Carter put the Iowa caucus on the map. Before then, Jimmy Carter was not very well known outside of Georgia, where he had been peanut farmer before he was governor. When they heard his name, people often said, Jimmy who? He realized before anyone else that a strong Silverdale Press Page 3 of 9

4 Presidential Elections Unit Study finish in Iowa could get his name out as a top candidate. So, he spent lots of time and money there. He won the Iowa caucus and then went on to win the Democratic nomination and then the presidency. After Iowa, nobody was asking, Jimmy who? In 1980, George H.W. Bush imitated Carter s tactics and won a narrow victory over Ronald Reagan in Iowa. Jimmy Carter Afterward, Bush declared he had the big mo, or momentum, meaning his campaign was going full steam ahead of the others. Ronald Reagan went on to win New Hampshire, and Reagan eventually won the nomination. But Iowa showed that Bush was a worthy candidate, and Reagan chose him as his vice presidential running mate. The New Hampshire primary takes place soon after Iowa. New George H.W. Bush Hampshire gives the losers in Iowa another chance to do well. Iowa and New Hampshire are very different states. The people, tastes, and preferences are different. So, it is not unusual for a candidate to do well in Iowa but lose in New Hampshire. In 2016, Republican Senator Ted Cruz won in Iowa, but his opponent businessman Donald Trump won in New Hampshire. Among the Democrats, former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won in Iowa, but her opponent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won in New Hampshire. Bill Clinton It is rare for a candidate to lose both Iowa and New Hampshire but go on to win the nomination. Bill Clinton, then serving as governor of Arkansas, is the only one who has accomplished that feat since the 1970s. In 1992, he lost both Iowa and New Hampshire but went on to do well in the other primaries and eventually won the Democratic nomination. The votes in Iowa and New Hampshire can make or break a campaign. They can propel one candidate into the lead and force others to drop out. In the 2008 primaries, Democrat Barack Obama was the underdog. He had only served a few years in the United States Senate and was new to the national political scene. Most people thought Hillary Clinton would win. Obama ended up winning by eight percentage points, while Hillary Clinton finished in third place. Obama s early victory in Iowa convinced other Democratic voters to vote for him, and he eventually beat Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama Super Tuesday After Iowa and New Hampshire residents cast their votes, it is time for the rest of the states to weigh in. Another important date early in the primary calendar is Super Tuesday, a day when a large number of states hold primaries and caucuses. A very good showing on Super Tuesday by one candidate can force the others to drop out. Silverdale Press Page 4 of 9

5 In 2016, Super Tuesday was on March 1. About one-fifth of the states voted on Super Tuesday. Among Republicans, Donald Trump won seven contests, while Ted Cruz won three, and Marco Rubio won one. Hillary Clinton won seven state contests, while Bernie Sanders won four. Primaries and Caucuses So, Iowa holds a caucus and New Hampshire holds a primary. So, what s the difference between a caucus and a primary? In a primary, a voter will go to his or her normal polling place, walk into a booth or up to a private computer screen, and pull a lever or push a button for his or her favorite candidate. A polling place is a building where voting takes place, usually a school or a fire hall or other public building. The ballots are secret, and the polls (short for polling places) are usually open all day, with people coming and going whenever they wish. A caucus is different. In caucuses, voters meet in local schools, churches, and libraries along with their friends and neighbors. They gather together at a set time. Caucus goers debate national issues, such as healthcare and taxes and most importantly the presidential candidates. Caucus goers do not cast secret ballots. Caucuses allow voters to openly show support for candidates by raising hands or breaking into groups. Usually, only voters who are registered with a party can participate in a caucus. Open Primaries and Closed Primaries There are two types of primaries: open and closed. In open primary states, anyone who is registered can vote in the election. The voter will walk into a polling place and decide in which primary Democratic or Republican (not both) he or she would like to vote. Voters do not have to be members of a party in order to vote. In closed primary states, voters must be registered members of the party in order to vote in its primary. Voters who are not registered with a party, such as independent voters, cannot participate. Registered Republicans vote in the Republican primary. Registered Democrats vote in the Democratic primary. Open primaries allow more people to participate, but closed primaries ensure that loyal members of the party select its candidate. Silverdale Press Page 5 of 9

6 Presidential Elections Unit Study Winning the Primary How does a candidate win the party s primary? It isn t as simple as winning more state contests or total votes than the other candidates in the party. The people s vote in each state will determine how many convention delegates are awarded to the candidates. Capturing Delegates To win, a candidate must capture a majority of delegates to the party s national convention. Delegates are actual people who go to the convention and vote for the nominee. Delegates are committed to vote for a certain candidate when they go to the convention. By capturing a delegate, a candidate ensures that the delegate will vote for him or her at the convention. We will learn more about delegates in the next lesson. For now, it is enough to know that each state has a certain number of delegates available for candidates to capture or win. The bigger the state, the more delegates it has. Republicans and Democrats have different numbers and kinds of convention delegates. In 2016, the winner of the Republican primary had to capture a majority of its total 2,472 delegates. In other words, a Republican candidate needed 1,237 delegates to win. The winner of the Democratic primary had to capture a majority of its 4,765 delegates. In other words, a Democratic candidate needed 2,383 delegates to win. Donald Trump The rules of the game for capturing delegates differ from state to state and party to party. One difference is that the Republican Party allows for states to use a winner-take-all system. Under this system, the candidate who wins the most votes gets all the delegates from that state. Some but not all states use this system. Florida does. In the Florida primary on March 16, 2016, Donald Trump won the highest percentage of the votes (45%), but he was awarded all of the state s ninetynine delegates. The Democratic Party requires that delegates be awarded according to proportional representation. Under this system, the number of delegates awarded should line up with the percentage of the vote the candidates received. For example, in the 2016 Florida Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton won 64 percent of the vote and 141 delegates, while Bernie Sanders won 33 percent of the vote and 73 delegates. Hillary Clinton The Democratic Party also has superdelegates, who are Democratic members of Congress, governors, former presidents, and other influential party leaders. Each superdelegate publicly declares his or her support for one of the candidates. Superdelegates make up about 20 percent of the total delegates to the Democratic convention. The rest of the delegates, or those that are won through the primary contests, are called pledged delegates. Republicans do not have superdelegates, but they do have around 150 unpledged delegates who have a similar function to superdelegates. Silverdale Press Page 6 of 9

7 So, really the race to win the primary election is a race to capture a majority of convention delegates. Usually one candidate from each party will capture a majority delegates at some point on the primary calendar but this can be different from election to election, depending on how well each of the candidates are doing. This can happen and often does happen before the last states have held their primaries and caucuses. Becoming the Nominee Once a candidate has captured a majority of delegates, that person becomes the party s nominee. However, until the party conventions, the nominee is referred to as a presumptive nominee because the person s nomination is presumed, not guaranteed. It is not until the party s convention, the subject of our next lesson, that the winner becomes the official nominee. Key Terms: v Candidate v Caucus v Closed primary v Endorsement v General election v Invisible primary v Momentum v Nominee v Open primary v Polling place v Pledged delegates v Primary election v Proportional representation v Superdelegates v Super Tuesday v Term v Winner-take-all Questions for Review 1. What is the difference between the invisible primary season, the primary season, and the general election season? 2. How does a caucus compare to a primary? 3. What is the difference between an open and closed primary? 4. Which states are most influential in the primary season and why? Silverdale Press Page 7 of 9

8 5. How does a candidate win a state primary? How about a national primary? 6. What are delegates and how are they captured? How do the delegates differ by party? Questions for Debate 1. What type of person do you think would make the best presidential candidate? What kind of background should the person have? Does the candidate need to have political experience? 2. Is it fair that Iowa and New Hampshire get to vote first during the primary season? Why or why not? 3. Some people think the parties should hold a national primary. All the states would vote on the same day. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not? 4. Which party has the better system for awarding delegates Republicans or Democrats? 2016 Exercises 1. Research your state s role in the primary season. When did your state vote? Does it hold a caucus or primary? Based on its place on the calendar, how much influence did it have? How many delegates did each candidate win from your state? (Note: You can easily find a summary of this information, along with delegate totals, on news Websites, such as Politico, The New York Times, FoxNews, and CNN). 2. Print out blank calendar pages from the months of February through June Research and fill in the dates of each state s primary on the calendar. For each week or month during this period, put together a list of the delegate totals for each candidate. Review the calendar and the delegate totals to see how the election unfolded. (Note: You can easily find a summary of this information, along with delegate totals, on news Websites, such as Politico, The New York Times, FoxNews, and CNN). 3. Check the Websites (if still available) and/or YouTube channels of the top candidates in the primary (Ted Cruz and Donald Trump for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the Democrats). You may also want to watch the primary debates between the candidates of each party. How do the candidates from each party differ from each other? Which candidate would you support and why? 4. Pick your favorite candidate from the primary and write a short political biography of that candidate. Explain how that person became a candidate for the president. (Newspaper articles are a good source of information, or else check the individual s official Website). Silverdale Press Page 8 of 9

9 Historical Exercises 1. In 2008, Republican Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucus, and John McCain won the New Hampshire primary. McCain went on to win the nomination. Read their addresses to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an important campaign stop for Republicans. How were the two candidates different? Whose speech did you like better, and why? (Note: These can be found online through The American Presidency Project the link is listed below). 2. Read Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama s statements announcing that they will run for the 2008 Democratic nomination. How were the two candidates different? Whose announcement did you like better and why? (Note: These can be found online through The American Presidency Project the link is listed below). Get Involved! If you are eighteen years old or older, register to vote. If you are not old enough to register, help somebody else who is eligible register to vote. (The Website Vote.USA.gov will allow you to select your state and provide instructions. Relatives and friends who have just turned eighteen may be a great source of not-yet-registered voters). Set up a voter registration booth or hold a voter registration drive at your church or other community center. You will need to look into your state laws about voter registration and get permission to set up the booth or conduct the drive. On the Web Politico Politico contains political news about campaigns, candidates, and issues, including delegate totals and maps. The American Presidency Project Read speeches and remarks given by presidential primary candidates: 1960, 2004, 2008, 2012, and U.S. Vote Website Find out the process to register to vote in your state at the official U.S. Vote Website. Silverdale Press Page 9 of 9