Strengths And Weaknesses Of Presidential Candidates

Although voters do not have an obligation publicly state which party they align with, they still must only align with one party during the primary. Therefore, their ballots do not present every possible candidate, and thus, their scope of presidential candidates is limited. The goal of a primary should be to reflect how the state will likely vote during the general election. Blanket primaries accomplish this by allowing voters to select the best candidate from every choice available. This also shows how certain candidates fair in comparison with other parties’ candidates. Parties still have the ability to nominate their candidate with the highest number of votes, but the blanket primary gives more power to the voters than to political parties. Political candidates must market themselves to voters as an aggregate in the state, and cannot rely on party affiliation to be a driving force come primary season. Therefore, while open and blanket primaries are extremely similar, it is the fact that blanket primaries allow more freedom for voters that makes them the favorable

Primary elections are elections held previous to a Presidential election to decide upon the presidential candidate from the two main parties. These are held in each state, each of which then goes on to sponsor the winning candidate of their primary at the national convention, where the party’s presidential candidate is announced. This method of choosing a candidate came about due to the McGovem/Fraser Commission of 1968 (where Mayor Daley refused McGovem the chance to run as he was too liberal). It replaced the old system of decisions being made in ‘smoke filled rooms’ where party bosses were all powerful and made the decision.

The McGovern-Fraser Commission changed the presidential primary system by writing new rules to make the Democratic Party conventions more open to input from the public as well as representative. By doing so, the public and party leaders could no longer “handpick” the convention delegates virtually in secret and the delegate selection process was required to be open for anyone to participate.

Winning the primary Ballot procedures Developing a personal following for the "party 's" nomination Incumbent advantage Sophomore surge Using the perqs of office Campaigning for / against Congress Impact of the way we elect individuals to Congress Legislators closely tied to local concerns Weak party leadership Primary versus general campaigns Kinds of elections and primaries: general versus primary elections Differences between primary and general campaigns What works in a general election may not work in a primary Different voters, workers, and media attention Must mobilize activists with money and motivation to win nomination Must play to the politics of activists Iowa caucuses Held in February of general election year

The most common procedure-used in thirty-four states-is for state conventions of the parties to nominate the electors. In ten other states and the District of Columbia, the statue party’s central committee makes the nominations. One state, Arizona, authorizes nomination of the electors in primary elections. The remaining five states use a combination of methods. The most unusual nomination law is Pennsylvania’s, which authorizes each party’s presidential nominee to select electors on his behalf. (Edwards III 2-3)

A primary election is where voters in each state votes for a presidential candidate by

This paper will talk about the presidential primaries in the United States of America. It will explain what a primary election is, and where it comes from historically, also how it fits into today’s society. Another topic it will cover is how the primary process has played out so far this year, how some of the contenders are currently faring in the race for presidency. It will also cover the strong suits of the primaries and some of the major flaws of the primaries. The last topic this paper will cover is whether or not the people of the United States should understand and care about the presidential Primaries.

The last paper is a political research paper about the structure of the electoral college. Electoral College System Failure, spring 2016, with Mr. Thornburg, was written in MLA format. This paper covers how the Electoral College system has become a two-party system, Republican and Democratic. This paper has helped me have a better understanding of how the Electoral College functions in the country that I live in. Before taking the political science class and doing the research paper, I did not know how the districts were separated and how the first election stages were done. After the paper I concluded that even though the Electoral College system has worked for the United States, maybe there should be a change in how presidents are elected.

The distinguished contributors to this instructive volume - including Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Michael Barone, and Walter Berns- show why it would be foolish to abolish the Electoral College by explaining not only its historical and cultural significance, but also its present role in instilling a measure of stability and sanity to our electoral and party systems. This is the definitive volume for all those interested in the logic, and continuing importance of this unique American political institution.

The American Electoral College is the most confusing part of the American government. In addition, Kenneth Davis, author of Don’t Know Much About History, noted, “Grown men turn weak and stammer when asked who makes up the Electoral College.” However, there will be an effort to clear this enigma up for those who “turn weak and stammer” (2011, p. 653). America’s election system is important because their citizens need to know what they are doing on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The Electoral College has an interesting structure, procedure, and history, while also serving America well.

On decision day, when voters in every state go to the surveys, every one throws a tally for the slate of presidential voters who are promised to bolster the hopeful the voter lean towards. These slates host been chosen by political gatherings, through traditions, boards of trustees or primaries. At the point when an applicant

The Golden Age of nominating conventions were started as a mechanism to organize and unify the party. After the civil war, all the convention become deliberative convention. People get the nominations by cutting deals and bring the different factions and people into a collation.

With a Presidential election year upon us, the United States’ national election process will once again take its place at center stage of American politics. 200 years after the Electoral College’s creation, it still serves its intended purpose, but the increasing social and political awareness in America has caused a need to look at reform in this process. The question that should be asked by every citizen as they participate in the vote next year is if the Electoral College enables the wishes of the people to be truly represented? Reforming the practice of choosing the American President, though, would have Constitutional implications and the political philosophy of our country would be subject to much discussion. Through analyzing the

At the conclusion of President Barack Obama’s historical consecutive terms in office there is going to be a large number of candidates that are vying for the nominations of the respective parties. Due to the constitutional term limits imposed on the President, Obama is barred to seek re-election in 2016. While there are about 10 candidates running for the republicans, there are only two still in the running for the Democratic Party. The way candidates are recognized by their respective parties to become a candidate for the United States Presidency is first by receiving an invitation to compete in the primaries, then being included in the nationwide polls, as well as being on the ballot for at least 75% of all states. At the conclusion of the February 1st caucus there were 3 Democrats and 10 republicans who were still in the Presidential race, since then one Democratic candidate had dropped out.

In 1832 the nation's first presidential nominating convention was done by the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, this actually weakened the role of political parties since one of the most important duties of a party was to select a presidential candidate. Similarly, direct primaries further weakened the role of political parties. In the 1870s as large numbers of immigrants flooded into the US, parties competed for their support. This resulted in the creation of "machines" which recruited people (mostly new immigrants) to gain votes in