192 CHAPTER 7|ELECTIONS
The presence of confl ict in American elections is no surprise: as we discussed
in Chapter 5 on public opinion, Americans often disagree about what government
should do. These differences are refl ected among the candidates for the House,
Senate, and presidency—both in the promises they make during campaigns and
in the actions they take in offi ce. Even when candidates largely agree on policy
questions, which occasionally happens in House and Senate races, elections are
still confl ictual, as debate centers on which one is better-qualifi ed to make the
choices he or she will face if elected.
Elections are also about compromise. Some of the voters who supported
Mitt Romney during the Republican nomination process did so not because he
was their most-preferred candidate, but because he was good enough in their
view, and they believed that he had the best chance of beating Barack Obama.
Similarly, as Romney’s rivals, including Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and Rick
Santorum, dropped out of the race, they endorsed Romney and campaigned for
him. While each would have preferred to be the nominee rather than Romney,
their endorsement refl ected the fact that they would rather see Romney win than
have four more years of Obama in offi ce.
On the Democratic side, after Obama won the presidency in 2008, he named his
principal rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, as his secretary of
state. Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, had also competed for the Democratic
nomination. While Clinton’s and Biden’s policy views differed from Obama’s in
some areas, their interest in Obama succeeding in offi ce was enough to overcome
their disagreements. And, while there was some confl ict within the Democratic
Party over some decisions Obama made in his fi rst term in offi ce, most dissenters
supported Obama because they believed he was the best candidate the party
could put forth. As these examples illustrate, compromise is often an essential
ingredient in a winning electoral strategy, both for voters and for candidates.
Elections also demonstrate that political process matters. Candidates in
American elections compete for a wide variety of offi ces. They are elected for
different periods of time to represent districts, states, or the entire nation—places
that vary tremendously in terms of what constituents want from government.
A variety of rules determine who can run, who can vote, and how candidates can
campaign. Even ballot layouts and how votes are cast and counted vary across
states. Elections also differ in the amount of media coverage they receive, the
level of involvement of political parties and other organizations, and the amount of
attention citizens pay to the contests. All these aspects of the election process—
who runs, how they campaign, and how voters respond—shape outcomes.
Elections, as prominent, public forums that give Americans the opportunity to
debate policy preferences, provide further evidence that politics is everywhere.
During election season, campaign coverage and ads for candidates become
almost impossible to avoid. Even so, one of the most important tasks all
campaigns face is getting citizens’ attention and convincing them to listen.
Our goal in this chapter is to explain how American elections work. By making
the election process more comprehensible and by focusing on the promises
candidates make in campaigns, we aim to demonstrate how and why elections
matter. We show that there are real differences between candidates in races
for national offi ce and that these differences have profound implications for
public policy. We show that the actions candidates take during campaigns
shape citizens’ perceptions and their vote decisions. And we show that despite
Americans’ general detachment from politics, their votes refl ect both their policy
preferences and considerable insight into candidates’ promises and performance.CHAPTER goals
Present the major rules
and procedures of
American elections.
¾ PAGES 193–200
Describe the features and
strategies of campaigns for
federal offi ce.
¾ PAGES 200–210
Explain the key factors that
infl uence voters’ choices.
¾ PAGES 210–15
Analyze the issues and
outcomes in the 2012
elections.
¾ PAGES 215–22