US Elections
To run for president in the United States, candidates must meet several formal and practical requirements. The formal requirements are set out in Article II of the Constitution. A candidate must be a natural-born US citizen, at least 35 years old, and must not have already served two terms as president. These are the legal criteria. However, in practice, there are additional expectations that influence who can realistically run. Political experience is traditionally seen as essential, with most candidates having held high-level office such as vice president, governor, or senator. For example, Joe Biden served as a senator for 36 years and as vice president under Obama before running in 2020.
Another key practical requirement is access to significant financial resources. Campaigning in the US is extremely expensive, especially during the primaries. Candidates must raise millions of dollars to remain competitive. This money is often raised through wealthy backers, political action committees, or personal wealth. For example, Barack Obama demonstrated in 2011 how grassroots fundraising could be highly effective, raising $125 million largely through small donations. Without money, candidates often drop out early, as was the case with Lindsey Graham in 2016.
In addition to money and experience, candidates also need the endorsement of a major political party. No independent or third-party candidate has ever won a presidential election. The most successful thirdparty candidate was Ross Perot in 1992, who won nearly 19 percent of the popular vote but still failed to win a single electoral vote. Party support is crucial not only for ballot access but also for campaign infrastructure and media coverage. A good public image, communication skills, and media presence are also essential. While Donald Trump was an outsider in many ways, he had national name recognition and a strong media presence, which helped him secure the Republican nomination and ultimately the presidency. Charisma, debate skills, and being telegenic are also important qualities.
The nomination process begins with the invisible primary, a period before any official votes are cast. During this stage, potential candidates test the waters to see whether they have a chance of winning. There is no formal voting, but candidates work to gain name recognition, media attention, and support from key donors and party figures. They begin building their campaign organisations, travelling to key states, and laying the groundwork for a potential run. Mentions in the media and polling during this period are important indicators of potential success.
Fundraising during the invisible primary is also critical and is often referred to as building a "war chest." It is important for several reasons. First, it shows the strength and seriousness of a candidate’s campaign. Second, it provides the resources needed to campaign effectively, including for advertising, events, staff, and logistics. Third, strong fundraising can intimidate opponents and cause weaker candidates to drop out. Lindsey Graham, for instance, exited the 2016 race partly due to insufficient funds.
The second stage is the primaries and caucuses. Primaries are state-level elections where registered voters choose their preferred candidate to represent the party in the presidential election. These can be open, where any registered voter can participate regardless of party affiliation, or closed, where only registered party members can vote. In contrast, caucuses are more informal and involve meetings of party members who discuss and debate before voting. Each state runs its own process, as this stage is not governed by the Constitution, meaning there are hundreds of individual contests held on different dates with varying rules.
Once a candidate has essentially secured the party nomination through the primaries, they then choose a vice presidential running mate. This occurs before the national party convention and is often strategic. One common strategy is to balance the ticket. This involves choosing a running mate who complements the candidate, perhaps by bringing in experience, appealing to a different region, or attracting different demographics. For example, in 2008, Barack Obama chose Joe Biden, who had decades of Senate experience, to balance Obama’s relative inexperience. Another strategy is to select a vice president based on competence, especially if the candidate lacks experience in certain areas. George W. Bush chose Dick Cheney, a seasoned Washington insider, for this reason. A third strategy is to promote party unity, especially if the primary was divisive. Choosing a former rival or a figure who appeals to a different wing of the party can help unify the base.
The fourth stage is the national party convention. Each party holds its own convention, typically in a swing state, with the party out of power going first. These events are now heavily televised and choreographed, with most suspense gone due to the presence of committed delegates. Delegates are pledged to vote based on their state’s primary results. If no candidate secures a majority on the first ballot, delegates can become unbound and vote freely, though this is rare. The last major example of a deadlocked convention was in 1924, when it took the Democratic Party over 100 ballots to choose a nominee.
At the convention, the vice-presidential nominee is formally announced, though in practice the decision is made by the presidential candidate beforehand. The convention used to play a larger role in choosing the vice president, but that function has largely disappeared. Still, the vice presidential nominee typically delivers a major speech. Another key function of the convention is to approve the party platform, which outlines the party’s principles and proposed policies. These platforms are similar to manifestos, although usually broader and less detailed. For example, Republican and Democratic platforms differ significantly on issues like abortion, gun control, and healthcare.
Stage five is the general election campaign. Once the primaries are over, the focus shifts from intra-party competition to the battle between parties. The general election campaign typically lasts around nine weeks and involves televised debates, media appearances, attack ads, and a national campaign strategy. Candidates focus on key swing states, voter turnout operations, and trying to appeal to undecided voters. Tactics such as mudslinging and media blitzes are common.
Campaign finance plays a major role in the general election. In 2020, the cost of federal elections broke records, with nearly $14 billion spent in total. Michael Bloomberg spent over $1 billion on his campaign, despite failing to win a single state. Campaign funds are used for advertisements, hiring staff, travel expenses, media time, and get-out-the-vote operations. Most candidates accept donations through a mix of hard money and soft money. Hard money is directly donated to candidates and is capped at $2,800 per individual, or $35,000 to a party, under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Soft money refers to independent expenditures, which are unlimited and are used by Super PACs to support candidates indirectly.
Public funding, which was once a significant part of campaign finance, is now rarely used because it limits how much a candidate can spend. Most major candidates now rely on private fundraising, which tends to favour those with the best chance of winning.
A notable feature of American elections is the potential for an "October surprise." This refers to a late-breaking event close to the election that can shift public opinion. In 1972, for example, Democratic candidate George McGovern campaigned on ending the Vietnam War, but President Nixon announced peace talks just before the election, undercutting McGovern’s central message and helping Nixon win in a landslide.
Voting behaviour in the US is shaped by many social and demographic factors. Gender has historically played a role, with women more likely to vote for Democrats due to the party’s support for issues like equal pay and reproductive rights. In the 2020 election, Joe Biden won 57 percent of the female vote. Geography is also a major factor. Rural areas tend to lean Republican, while urban areas are more Democratic. Suburban areas have increasingly leaned Democratic, particularly in swing states like Georgia, which voted for a Democrat in 2020 for the first time in 28 years. Religion also influences voting patterns. Evangelical Christians heavily favour Republicans due to their socially conservative values. Muslim Americans tend to support Democrats, partly due to a history of Islamophobic rhetoric within the Republican Party.
Finally, the Electoral College is the system used to elect the president. It was created as a constitutional compromise by the Founding Fathers to act as a layer between the public and the selection of the president. Each state receives a number of electoral votes equal to its total representation in Congress: the number of House Representatives plus two Senators. This results in significant imbalances. For example, California has 55 electoral votes while Wyoming has just three, even though California has a population more than 50 times larger. To win, a candidate must secure an absolute majority of electoral votes, currently 270 out of 538. This system has been criticised for distorting the popular will. For example, in 2016, Donald Trump won the presidency despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly three million votes.
Key election examples include the 1992 election between Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ross Perot. Clinton won by appealing to middle-class voters and promising economic reform, while Bush struggled with a weakening economy. Perot, running as an independent, gained significant support through his self-funded campaign, winning 19 percent of the popular vote, though no electoral votes. In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in a highly polarising election. Clinton had previously faced Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries, and some Sanders supporters chose not to vote or even supported Trump out of protest. Trump’s message resonated particularly well in Rust Belt states suffering from industrial decline, and he won key swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. That year also saw the highest number of rogue or faithless electors in modern history.
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