Evaluate the importance of the ‘invisible primary’ in the selection of presidential candidates
The invisible primary is a period before the actual primary where candidates declare an intention to run for presidency. This is important for a candidate to gain name recognition, to acquire money and to put together the necessary organisation in order to run a successful campaign.
One reason why the invisible primary is important in selecting the presidential candidate is it helps to sort out the weaker candidates from the stronger ones e.g. in the 2008 election, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd pulled out of the democratic race immediately after the first Caucus in Iowa. Also the 2012 invisible primary saw a number of apparently well qualified candidates e.g. Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie declare their withdrawal along with Herman Cain who was accused of sexual allegations and this led to negative publicity around his campaign. This led to two candidates, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry to fight for the Republican nomination and this suggests that the invisible primary is important because the two strongest candidates that had acquired the most support and funding were able to compete in the actual primary. However it could be argued that momentum is arguably more important than front-runner status e.g. the winners of the Democratic invisible primary in 2004 and 2008, Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton, both failed to gain the nomination.
Another reason why the invisible primary is important is it gives potential candidates the chance to raise finance for their campaign in the actual primary. The amount of finance a candidate receives is an important indicator for the popularity of the candidate and that a particular candidate is a serious contender e.g. In the second quarter of 2007, Barack Obama, the Illinois senator who was seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, raised about $32.5 million, almost $7 million more than he had attracted in the first 3 months of the year. This means that a wide range of advertising can be done for when the actual
One reason why the invisible primary is important in selecting the presidential candidate is it helps to sort out the weaker candidates from the stronger ones e.g. in the 2008 election, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd pulled out of the democratic race immediately after the first Caucus in Iowa. Also the 2012 invisible primary saw a number of apparently well qualified candidates e.g. Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie declare their withdrawal along with Herman Cain who was accused of sexual allegations and this led to negative publicity around his campaign. This led to two candidates, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry to fight for the Republican nomination and this suggests that the invisible primary is important because the two strongest candidates that had acquired the most support and funding were able to compete in the actual primary. However it could be argued that momentum is arguably more important than front-runner status e.g. the winners of the Democratic invisible primary in 2004 and 2008, Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton, both failed to gain the nomination.
Another reason why the invisible primary is important is it gives potential candidates the chance to raise finance for their campaign in the actual primary. The amount of finance a candidate receives is an important indicator for the popularity of the candidate and that a particular candidate is a serious contender e.g. In the second quarter of 2007, Barack Obama, the Illinois senator who was seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, raised about $32.5 million, almost $7 million more than he had attracted in the first 3 months of the year. This means that a wide range of advertising can be done for when the actual