William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

316 Chapter 9 | Elections

and taking positions, and always raising campaign funds—which is part of the reason

they are so likely to win reelection. In many cases, incumbent House members and

senators wind up running against poorly funded, inexperienced candidates because

stronger challengers—seeing that the incumbent has been working hard to solidify

a hold on the constituency—decide to wait until the incumbent retires, when they

can run for the open seat. Thus, though incumbents are not automatically favored

for reelection, they often win by large margins because of all the things they do while

holding office in between elections.^29

Primaries and the General Election

Congressional primary elections occur throughout the spring and summer.

For congressional candidates, winning the primary allows them to plan for the

general election in November and gives them access to party resources including

contributions, workers, and assistance with polling and other logistics. As we

discussed earlier, presidential primaries and caucuses begin in early January and

extend into June, culminating in the party nominating conventions held during the

summer. Officially, the general-election campaigns begin in early September. By

then, both parties have chosen their presidential nominees and their congressional

candidates. Interest groups, candidates, and party committees have raised most of the

funds they will use or donate in the campaign. The race is on.

For presidential candidates, the move from primaries to the general election

involves a sharp shift in campaign strategies. Unlike in the early primary states, where

candidates engage in “retail politics” by meeting more directly with voters on a small,

individual scale, the presidential general-election campaigns emphasize “wholesale

politics,” a style of campaigning in which candidates contact voters indirectly, such

as through media coverage and campaign advertising. At this point, presidential

campaign events generally involve large numbers of citizens, and if they are smaller

events or one-on-one encounters, they are designed to generate media coverage and

thereby reach a larger audience.

In contrast, some general-election campaigns for the House and even a few Senate

races are more likely to practice retail politics, stressing direct contact with voters.

Even so, the start of these general-election campaigns is usually when congressional

candidates and groups supporting and opposing them go “on the air” with campaign

advertising. (In contrast, all presidential campaigns run ads throughout the primary

and general-election campaigns.)

Name Recognition One of the most fundamental campaign strategies, particularly

in congressional campaigns, is to build name recognition. Since many citizens tend not

to be well informed about congressional candidates, efforts to increase a candidate’s

name recognition in these races can deliver a few extra percentage points of support—

enough to turn a close defeat into a victory. If the only thing a citizen knows is the

name of one of the candidates, that citizen will almost surely vote for that candidate on

Election Day. The importance of name recognition is one reason why campaigns invest

in buttons, bumper stickers, and yard signs—all of which help ensure that voters know a

candidate’s name.

Getting Out the Vote A second basic strategy is mobilization. Turnout is not

automatic: just because a citizen supports a candidate does not mean that he or she

will actually vote. Candidates have to make sure that their supporters go to the polls

on Election Day. Moreover, focusing on getting supporters to the polls (or making sure

Candidates may gain media attention

and name recognition by hosting

campaign events alongside well-known

“surrogates.” Here, senator and former

presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-TX)

stands with now-elected congressman

Ron Estes (R-KS) in Wichita, Kansas.

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