Electoral campaigns 313a strong opponent, he or she will have enough money to run an aggressive campaign.
Second, successful fund-raising deters opposition. Potential challengers are less
likely to run against an incumbent if that individual is well funded with a sizable
campaign war chest.^25 We’ll discuss campaign fund-raising in more detail later in
the chapter.Promises and Party Positions Candidates also spend time before (and sometimes
during) a campaign developing or refining their campaign platform, which includes
stances on issues and promises about how the candidate will act in office. Given that
few voters are well informed about public policy or inclined to learn, candidates do
not win elections by trying to educate the electorate or making complex promises.
What works is making promises and taking positions that are simple and consistent
with what the average voter believes, even if these beliefs are inconsistent with
reality. For example, many people believe that interest groups have too much power in
Washington, although their influence is far less powerful than most Americans think
(see Chapter 10). Even so, many candidates accuse their opponents of being beholden
to interest groups. These claims may be far-fetched, but they work well politically
because they play in to citizens’ perceptions.
In writing their platforms, candidates may be constrained by positions they have
taken in the past or by their party affiliation. For one thing, candidates whose positions
vary from one election to another or between the primary and general elections often
lose support from voters who see the changes as a sign of manipulation.^26 Also, as we
saw in Chapter 8, the parties have strong brand identities that lead many citizens to
associate Democrats with liberal policies and Republicans with conservative ones. As
a result, candidates often find it difficult to make campaign promises that contradict
these perceptions. For example, during the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump
pledged to expand Medicare and Social Security benefits. However, in light of past
attempts by Republican officeholders to cut these programs, voters might be suspicious
that Trump—the Republican nominee—would carry out this pledge if elected. Indeed,
two years into Trump’s term, there is no sign that he is planning to carry out this change.
A candidate’s positions are also influenced by demands from potential supporters. In a
state or district with many conservative or Republican voters, opposition to ObamacareAmerican presidential campaigns
depend on thousands of paid and
volunteer staff. Here, volunteers
for Democratic candidate Hillary
Clinton make phone calls to potential
supporters from a Clinton campaign
office in Newark, Ohio.Full_10_APT_64431_ch09_296-339.indd 313 16/11/18 1:44 PM