Claiming the Mantle: How Presidential Nominations Are Won and Lost Before the Votes Are Cast (Dilemmas in American Politics)

Claiming the Mantle details the formal and informal process of selecting presidential nominees. Author R. Lawrence Butler argues that changes to the presidential nomination process designed for greater democratization have come full circle. Once again, nominees are chosen by party bosses, in most instances before the first votes are cast in Iowa and New Hampshire. The candidate who takes the lead before the primaries will win the nomination because the compression and front-loading of the primary process, combined with the campaign finance system, make it impossible for anyone else to capitalize on early momentum. The only real difference between the present system and the days of party bosses in smoke-filled rooms is who does the choosing. In addition to party leaders, the fundraisers, political consultants, interest group leaders, and party activists in key states choose a party's nominee for President. Although Howard Dean outraised his opponents in 2003, he did not develop the national organization or the institutional support necessary to secure the nomination, leaving himself vulnerable to Kerry's 2004 surge. Drawing on numerous examples from the 2004 Democratic campaign, and detailed analyses of every contested Republican and Democratic presidential nomination race since 1976, Claiming the Mantle interprets the evolution of the presidential nomination process and explores the unwritten rules of the pre-primary campaign that allow one candidate to "claim the mantle" while the others fall short.