Primary Races
Emerging in the Political Environment
The primary phase gained strength in the 1970s and the 1980s. This process consists of three dominant forces: the media, campaign structure, and strategic environment. While these forces are present in the surfacing stage, they transform in their goals and strategies in the primary phase.
Strategic Entrance into the Election
The surfacing prenomination phase transitions into the primary phase with an official announcement to run for office. The announcement itself is strategic. Announce too early and the candidate opens themselves up for additional criticism; announce too late and the candidate has little time to secure financing for the primary phase. Communicating with the public in this stage is critical towards proving that Candidate A is better than Candidate B from the same party. While this is a crucial stage for candidate emergence, it is not the most vital stage. As long as a candidate is able to gain positive media attention and thus a general name recognition, they are likely to move on towards the second stage.
The Impact of Media on Candidates
While the surfacing process weeds out many potential candidates, the primaries still have many individuals for the media to focus on. Because the public is confronted by an array of candidates, they rely on name recognition and positive/negative associations. The media, in this case, can be brutal in ending the presidential campaign career of candidates.
As the New York Times on April 23, 2007 indicates John Edwards received a good deal of name recognition in the Democratic primaries, but the association with his name destroyed his credibility. In the 2004 elections, Republicans characterized Edwards as a “pretty boy” in an “empty suit,” which negatively cast Edwards image as a hollow, puppet character who was unable to relate with the people. When the media caught wind of John Edwards’ $400 haircut in the primaries leading up to 2008, the public lost faith in his ability to be fiscally responsible. Additionally, the incident distanced Edwards from most of his potential voters in a socioeconomic light.
Campaign Structure
Organizational structure is also a key element in this phase. The John Edwards scenarios prove that the public relations department is crucial in limiting devastating, negative press. However, a strong organization structure is necessary to perform much of the tradition “grunt” work, including the production of campaign buttons, the placement of yard signs, and the calling of voters to encourage their primary vote. Incumbent Presidents may find this area easier to manage given that they may hold over their previous organizational structure instead of forming a new structure prone to kinks and inefficiencies. By the time that an incumbent President is seeking his or her second term, the organizational structure should be solid. This represents an obstacle to challengers within the party who must face an uphill battle to prove not only their worth, but also their ability to maintain a functional basis to gain an advantage over incumbents.
The organization structure is also a requirement to address the strategic environment. Candidates must be prepared to answer quickly and effectively to new allegations and attacks from party members and opposition candidates. Fueled by the media, this conflict is essentially a resource war for which candidate can secure the most positive press and dish out the most negative towards challengers.
The primary phase leads up to the convention phase, a four-day process where the each party nominates a single candidate for president. However, the politics leading up to the event are some of the determining factors in selecting a single nominee. Thus, media recognition and a strong campaign structure are necessary to navigate the political environment.
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