Question

Candidates Jones and Smith are competitors in the 2020 election. They have developed very different playbooks for targeting voters. Candidate Jones intends to focus primarily on the least-likely voter groups (i.e., those that were a low proportion of the electorate given their proportion of the population). Candidate Smith has adopted a much more conventional strategy, targeting those groups that had high turnout in the previous election.

Answer 1

In primary elections, voters choose from multiple candidates within the same party, while general elections typically focus on party nominees. Campaigns use different strategies to target voter demographics, with some focusing on likely voters and others, like Candidate Jones, on least-likely voter groups. Fundraising and media presence are also vital elements of successful campaign strategies.

Step-by-step explanation:

Voters in primary elections face a more complex choice among multiple candidates within the same party, often needing to rely on more than just party identification to make their decisions. The 2020 Democratic primary, with candidates like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, demonstrated this challenge, as voters had to assess each candidate's positions on various issues. Unlike primaries, general elections usually boil down to a choice between the major party nominees, with campaigns focusing on mobilizing their base and swaying independent voters.

Understanding that election outcomes are influenced by which demographic groups turn out to vote, campaigns adopt different strategies to maximize their chances of winning. Some campaign managers target groups that are statistically more likely to vote, based on factors like age, education, and income. Other campaign managers might adopt an atypical approach like Candidate Jones, targeting the least-likely voter groups to possibly engage a new segment of the electorate that is often overlooked. These diverse tactics illustrate how campaign strategies can vary greatly to adapt to electorate changes and voter demographics.

Fundraising is another critical component in a campaign's strategy. Early funds are crucial for establishing a strong campaign presence and can help attract more donations, as evidenced by groups like EMILY's List that support campaigns financially from the outset. In the modern political landscape, campaigns also utilize television and the Internet for advertising and voter outreach, playing a crucial role in shaping voter perceptions and mobilizing support.