In what way(s) must a presidential candidate change campaign strategies after winning a party’s nomination and beginning the national campaign phase? Why must he/she make these changes?

What will be an ideal response?

In order to win a party’s nomination, a candidate must find a base of supporters, which are generally far left or right of center. The candidates find themselves pandering not to the center of the party but to the most radical fringes. However, when the national campaign phase begins, the base support is not enough to win a national presidential election. Candidates find themselves fighting for the undecided voter, who is often in the middle of the political pack. The “average voter” becomes the sought-after prize, and this is far different from the base that supported the candidate in winning his/her party’s nomination. Students should discuss the causes and effects of such “shifts” in political message base and how important it is to use tools such as polling in order to find and gain support from the maximum number of possible voters.