Sandy Donovan - Getting Elected: A Look at Running for Office

Getting Elected

A Look at Running For Office

Robin Nelson and Sandy Donovan

The character Kate Brown and her colleagues are fictional. All characters, situations,
and places depicted in this story were created for educational purposes only to allow the
publisher to discuss and explain the process of running for office. Any resemblance to
persons living or dead or to actual circumstances and places are purely coincidental.
Copyright 2012 by Sandy Donovan
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written
permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in
an acknowledged review.
Lerner Publications Company
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A.
Website address: www.lernerbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nelson, Robin, 1971
Getting elected: a look at running for office / by Robin Nelson and Sandy Donovan.
p. cm. (Searchlight booksHow does government work?)
Includes index.
ISBN 9780761365198 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)
1. Political campaignsUnited StatesJuvenile literature. 2. Campaign
managementUnited StatesJuvenile literature. 3. ElectionsUnited States
Juvenile literature. I. Donovan, Sandra, 1967 II. Title
JK2281.N45 2012
324.70973dc22 2010041859
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 DP 12/31/11

Contents

ELECTIONS IN A
DEMOCRACY

Chapter

ELECTIONS IN
A DEMOCRACY

The United States is a
democracy. In a democracy,
the government is run for the
people and by the people. But people
dont do all the work. They choose
representatives to make decisions for them.
These people help the government do its job.

Government
representatives take
the oath of office.
This is a promise to do
their jobs well. What
do representatives do?

Two children look
on as their mother
casts her vote.

People elect representatives.
That means they pick them by voting. In the United
States, we elect presidents, members of Congress (the
Senate and the House of Representatives), and governors.
We also elect school board members and judges.

Who Can Vote?

Voting is a right and a duty of people in a democracy. All
U.S. citizens over the age of eighteen can vote.

THESE HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS IN
UTAH ARE REGISTERING TO VOTE.

Who Can Run for Office?

A person running for office is called a candidate. To be
elected to most offices, candidates must be a certain
age. They must be U.S. citizens. Running for office also
takes hard work.
Were going to follow Kate Brown (a fictional character)
as she runs for the U.S. Senate. As well see, Brown finds
that running for office is hard but rewarding. Elected
officials get to help decide how to make a town, a state,
or even the whole country a better place to live.

Carol Moseley Braun of
Illinois talks to reporters.
She hopes to be elected
mayor of Chicago.

Chapter

BROWN FOR
SENATE

Brown has been the mayor of
Hillville for six years. Her main
job has been to listen to the people
of Hillville. She
helps solve their
problems. She also
makes sure that city
departments, such as
the fire department, are
running smoothly.
Brown likes being
mayor. She feels shes
made a difference in
peoples lives. Most people
say shes done a good job.

Mayor Richard M. Daley
visits a school in Chicago.
Do you know what a
mayors main job is?

Brown feels ready for a bigger challenge. Shed like to
help improve the rest of the state and the country. She
wants to be one of the two senators her state sends
to Washington, D.C. Thats where Congress meets. If
elected, Brown can help make laws in Congress that will
improve more peoples lives.

Ned Lamont of
Connecticut announces
that he will run for U.S.
Senate in 2006.

Hard Work

Brown knows running for office is hard. But shes used
to working long hours. When she ran for mayor, she
often slept just four hours a night. During the day, she
campaigned. Campaigning includes all the work of running
for office. It includes meeting voters and giving speeches.
But running for the Senate will be tougher than running
for mayor. Brown will need to win votes across the state,
not just in Hillville. Many people dont know who Brown is.

When Barack Obama ran
for president in 2008,
he met with voters
across the country.

Brown will have to spend money on her campaign.
Most voters get information about a candidate from
advertising. Brown will have to spend money on TV,
radio, and Internet ads.

AN AD FOR U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE
SHARRON ANGLE IS ON THE SIDE
OF THIS TRUCK.

Parties

The United States has two main political parties. They
are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Other parties are called third parties. The Green Party
is a third party. parties Political are groups of people who
join together to gain control over government. Members
of a party have similar
beliefs about the way
government should
work. Brown
belongs to the
Democratic
Party.

This artwork shows the
symbols for the Republican
Party (TOP) and the
Democratic Party (BOTTOM).