Modern Campaign Management and Electioneering

Elections in the United States provide the central and clearly vital avenue for the expression of public sentiment concerning the government\u27s functioning, through the selection of the political leaders who help determine the country\u27s direction. People have the opportunity to elect a president every four years, a representative every two years, and a vast number of other individuals to represent their views. The assumption is that the election campaigns will crystallize important issues and afford the populace a meaningful choice among parties and potential officeholders. American society has changed over the centuries and so have the elections and campaigns by which we choose political leaders. Political parties were the primary motivators for electioneering for many years; but changes in technology, the nature of the populace, the governmental process, and legislation concerning political parties and elections shifted a significant portion of electioneering from the parties to professional political campaign management firms