Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012
Encyclopedia
On April 4, 2011, the President of the United States
, Barack Obama
, formally announced his re-election campaign for 2012. He is expected to be opposed by a candidate from the Republican Party
and candidates from other parties, in an election
scheduled for Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
The campaign will be based in Chicago
, and key members of Obama's successful 2008 campaign
such as David Plouffe
and David Axelrod
will reportedly return. On the day of the announcement, the campaign released a promotional video showing supporters of Obama organizing for the re-election effort. As The Guardian
noted, this was the first U.S. presidential re-election campaign to use Twitter
and Facebook
for promotion.
, Obama was inaugurated
as the 44th President of the United States
. During his presidency
, Obama signed two pieces of economic stimulus
- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
in February 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
in December 2010. As President, Obama also signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
. Obama signed New START
, an arms control treaty with Russia
, began to gradually withdraw troops from Iraq
, began to increase troops in Afghanistan
, and enforced the United Nations-sanctioned no-fly zone
over Libya
. On May 1, 2011, President Obama ordered the military operation that resulted in the death
of Osama bin Laden
in Pakistan
.
Following the 2010 Midterm Elections
there was a lot of speculation about the details of the President's reelection campaign. There were many who speculated that his campaign would raise more than one billion U.S. dollars.
. The announcement was made via an online video titled "It Begins With Us", posted on his campaign website. The President also filled out official forms with the FEC
on April 4.
challenger Randall Terry
as well as the possibility of a yet to be named progressive challenger or challengers in the 2012 Democratic Primaries which begin with the Iowa Caucuses, expected to be held in January of 2012.
. The decision to create the campaign headquarters in Chicago instead of Washington, D.C.
is a historic move. No modern incumbent president has based his re-election headquarters in a location outside of Washington. The decision to base the campaign outside of Washington was mainly to build up grassroots support.
, who was in charge of Media in 2008 and who worked in the White House
as a Senior Advisor to the President
from 2009 until 2011, returned to Chicago to work on the campaign as the top communications official. Jim Messina, who worked in the White House as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations from 2009 until 2011, moved to Chicago to serve as campaign manager. Matthew Barzun
, the United States Ambassador to Sweden
, will serve as finance chairman. Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, who worked at the Democratic National Committee
as an executive director, was named deputy campaign manager. The other deputy campaign manager is Julianna Smoot
, who was the 2008 finance director and was briefly the White House Social Secretary
. Ben LaBolt will serve as national press secretary. LaBolt worked for Sherrod Brown
's 2006 Senate campaign, worked as Obama's senate press secretary, worked for the 2008 campaign, worked as a deputy White House Press Secretary
, and currently works for Mayor of Chicago
Rahm Emanuel
, Katie Hogan, who worked on the 2008 campaign, will serve as deputy press secretary. Rahm Emanunel is expected to play a role in the campaign. Emanuel served as White House Chief of Staff
from January 2009 until October 2010 and worked on President Bill Clinton
's successful 1992
and 1996
campaigns. Rufus Gifford will serve as Finance Director, Elizabeth Lowery will serve as Deputy Finance Director, Jeremy Bird will serve as National Field Director, Marlon Marshall will serve as Deputy National Field Director, Mitch Stewart
will serve as battleground state Director, and Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean will serve as Research Director. Katherine Archuleta was named political director.
, and New York
in April 2011. On April 29, 2011, it was announced that Matthew Barzun
, the United States Ambassador to Sweden
, would serve as finance chairman. Many sources claim that the campaign may be the first campaign in U.S. history to raise more than one billion dollars. In March 2011, Campaign Chairman Jim Messina asked a group of 450 top donors to raise $350,000. The LGBT
community has donated a record amount so far to the campaign. During the second fundraising quarter of 2011 (the first of the campaign), the campaign raised a record amount of $86,000,000. More than 550,000 individuals donated towards the campaign in the second quarter of 2011, which is a much larger number than the 180,000 individuals who donated to Obama's 2008 campaign during the first half of 2007.
poll found that in a hypothetical race between President Obama and a generic Republican, 48% backed the generic Republican and 40% backed the President. In a March 2011 Pew
poll, Obama held an advantage of 47% to 37%, similar to the lead that former President George W. Bush
held over an unnamed Democrat in 2003 and larger than the lead former President Bill Clinton
held over an unnamed Republican in 1995.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, formally announced his re-election campaign for 2012. He is expected to be opposed by a candidate from the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and candidates from other parties, in an election
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...
scheduled for Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
The campaign will be based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and key members of Obama's successful 2008 campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
such as David Plouffe
David Plouffe
David Plouffe is an American political strategist best known as the chief campaign manager for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in the United States...
and David Axelrod
David Axelrod
David Axelrod may refer to:* David Axelrod * David Axelrod , Senior Advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama* David B. Axelrod , poet and educator...
will reportedly return. On the day of the announcement, the campaign released a promotional video showing supporters of Obama organizing for the re-election effort. As The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted, this was the first U.S. presidential re-election campaign to use Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
for promotion.
Pre-announcement
After the 2008 presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, Obama was inaugurated
Inauguration of Barack Obama
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe...
as the 44th President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. During his presidency
Presidency of Barack Obama
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...
, Obama signed two pieces of economic stimulus
Stimulus (economic)
In economics, stimulus refers to attempts to use monetary or fiscal policy to stimulate the economy. Recently "stimulus" has become particularly associated with Keynesian economics and the theory that government spending projects can generate economic growth in a recession...
- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
in February 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 , was passed by the United States Congress on December 16, 2010 and signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 17, 2010....
in December 2010. As President, Obama also signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark federal statute that establishes a legal process for ending the Don't ask, don't tell policy , which since 1993 prevented openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the United States Armed Forces.The Act did not immediately repeal the...
. Obama signed New START
New START
New START is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms...
, an arms control treaty with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, began to gradually withdraw troops from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, began to increase troops in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, and enforced the United Nations-sanctioned no-fly zone
2011 military intervention in Libya
On 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war...
over Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. On May 1, 2011, President Obama ordered the military operation that resulted in the death
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Following the 2010 Midterm Elections
United States elections, 2010
The 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. During this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 37 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were contested in this election along with 38 state and territorial...
there was a lot of speculation about the details of the President's reelection campaign. There were many who speculated that his campaign would raise more than one billion U.S. dollars.
Announcement
On April 4, 2011, President Obama officially announced his candidacy for re-election. If re-elected, it would be his second and final termTwenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-second Amendment of the United States Constitution sets a term limit for the President of the United States. The Congress passed the amendment on March 21, 1947...
. The announcement was made via an online video titled "It Begins With Us", posted on his campaign website. The President also filled out official forms with the FEC
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
on April 4.
Primary
The President is not expected to face a significant challenge in the Democratic primaries. He is expected to face several activist candidates including pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
challenger Randall Terry
Randall Terry
Randall Almira Terry is an American pro-life activist and candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 2012. Terry founded the pro-life organization Operation Rescue. The group became particularly prominent beginning in 1987 for blockading the entrances to abortion clinics;...
as well as the possibility of a yet to be named progressive challenger or challengers in the 2012 Democratic Primaries which begin with the Iowa Caucuses, expected to be held in January of 2012.
Headquarters
The campaign will be based in Chicago in One Prudential PlazaOne Prudential Plaza
One Prudential Plaza is a 41-story structure in Chicago completed in 1955 as the headquarters for Prudential's Mid-America company...
. The decision to create the campaign headquarters in Chicago instead of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
is a historic move. No modern incumbent president has based his re-election headquarters in a location outside of Washington. The decision to base the campaign outside of Washington was mainly to build up grassroots support.
Campaign staff and policy team
Many key people from the successful 2008 campaign are expected to return. David AxelrodDavid Axelrod
David Axelrod may refer to:* David Axelrod * David Axelrod , Senior Advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama* David B. Axelrod , poet and educator...
, who was in charge of Media in 2008 and who worked in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
as a Senior Advisor to the President
Senior Advisor to the President
Senior Advisor is a title used within the Executive Branch of the United States Government for various positions.In the Executive Office of the President of the United States, the title has been used in two different capacities:*In the George W...
from 2009 until 2011, returned to Chicago to work on the campaign as the top communications official. Jim Messina, who worked in the White House as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations from 2009 until 2011, moved to Chicago to serve as campaign manager. Matthew Barzun
Matthew Barzun
Matthew Winthrop Barzun was selected by President Barack Obama as National Finance Chair for the Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012. He is an American business executive who is known for his work with CNET Networks and for his volunteer work on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He...
, the United States Ambassador to Sweden
United States Ambassador to Sweden
The United States Ambassador to Sweden serves as the chief representative of the United States Foreign Service to the Kingdom of Sweden, and 1814 to 1905, also to Norway, which was politically aligned with Sweden...
, will serve as finance chairman. Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, who worked at the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
as an executive director, was named deputy campaign manager. The other deputy campaign manager is Julianna Smoot
Julianna Smoot
Julianna Smoot is the Deputy Manager of Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign, having previously served as White House Social Secretary, Deputy Assistant to the President., and Chief of Staff to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk. Smoot previously served as a professional...
, who was the 2008 finance director and was briefly the White House Social Secretary
White House Social Secretary
The White House Social Secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.-Function:...
. Ben LaBolt will serve as national press secretary. LaBolt worked for Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Campbell Brown is the senior United States Senator from Ohio and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 13th congressional district from 1993 to 2007...
's 2006 Senate campaign, worked as Obama's senate press secretary, worked for the 2008 campaign, worked as a deputy White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
, and currently works for Mayor of Chicago
Mayor of Chicago
The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
, Katie Hogan, who worked on the 2008 campaign, will serve as deputy press secretary. Rahm Emanunel is expected to play a role in the campaign. Emanuel served as White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
from January 2009 until October 2010 and worked on President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's successful 1992
Bill Clinton presidential campaign, 1992
Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign for President of the United States was a critical turning point for the Democratic Party, which had controlled the White House for only four of the previous twenty-four years. Initially viewed as an unlikely prospect to win his party's nomination, Clinton did so and...
and 1996
United States presidential election, 1996
The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
campaigns. Rufus Gifford will serve as Finance Director, Elizabeth Lowery will serve as Deputy Finance Director, Jeremy Bird will serve as National Field Director, Marlon Marshall will serve as Deputy National Field Director, Mitch Stewart
Mitch Stewart
-Early life and education:Stewart grew up in Vermillion, South Dakota. He worked as a research assistant and staff assistant in Senator Tim Johnson's Senate office.-2002 Cycle:...
will serve as battleground state Director, and Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean will serve as Research Director. Katherine Archuleta was named political director.
Fundraising
The campaign began accepting online donations on April 4, 2011, the day Obama announced his candidacy. In the first 24 hours after online donations began to be accepted, over 23,000 online donations of $200 or less were made. President Obama headlined his first campaign fundraiser in April 2011 in Chicago. He also headlined fundraisers in San Francisco, Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in April 2011. On April 29, 2011, it was announced that Matthew Barzun
Matthew Barzun
Matthew Winthrop Barzun was selected by President Barack Obama as National Finance Chair for the Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012. He is an American business executive who is known for his work with CNET Networks and for his volunteer work on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He...
, the United States Ambassador to Sweden
United States Ambassador to Sweden
The United States Ambassador to Sweden serves as the chief representative of the United States Foreign Service to the Kingdom of Sweden, and 1814 to 1905, also to Norway, which was politically aligned with Sweden...
, would serve as finance chairman. Many sources claim that the campaign may be the first campaign in U.S. history to raise more than one billion dollars. In March 2011, Campaign Chairman Jim Messina asked a group of 450 top donors to raise $350,000. The LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community has donated a record amount so far to the campaign. During the second fundraising quarter of 2011 (the first of the campaign), the campaign raised a record amount of $86,000,000. More than 550,000 individuals donated towards the campaign in the second quarter of 2011, which is a much larger number than the 180,000 individuals who donated to Obama's 2008 campaign during the first half of 2007.
Opinion polling
An August 2011 RasmussenRasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...
poll found that in a hypothetical race between President Obama and a generic Republican, 48% backed the generic Republican and 40% backed the President. In a March 2011 Pew
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1990, Donald S...
poll, Obama held an advantage of 47% to 37%, similar to the lead that former President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
held over an unnamed Democrat in 2003 and larger than the lead former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
held over an unnamed Republican in 1995.
See also
- Democratic Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2012Democratic Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2012This article contains lists of candidates associated with the 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries for the 2012 United States presidential election.-Candidates:...
- 2012 Democratic National Convention2012 Democratic National ConventionThe United States 2012 Democratic National Convention, in which delegates of the Democratic Party will choose the party's nominees for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States in the 2012 national election, is scheduled to be held during the week of September 3,...
- Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
External links
- Obama for America, official campaign site