PROFILING A 2020 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RACE: CALIFORNIA’S 21ST DISTRICT, COX VS. VALADAO

Here are the directions for doing and turning in the assignment:

· First download the word document “PS2 Worksheet Spring 2023,” which is the bottom file in the “Class Handouts and Worksheet Assignment” Module on our class canvas website. To download it, click “download” which is right below the file title and above the document text box for it on canvas.

· After you’ve finished the worksheet by filling in the blanks between the questions using information from the Ballotpedia website, put your name (last name, then first) and time of your section at the top of the worksheet; please do that in bold print! Last but certainly not least, please, please fill in the blanks by TYPING NOT WRITING IN LONGHAND your answers. Since this is a word doc.x file, you can do that and also adjust the spaces between the questions when answering them. I had a few knuckleheads last term who wrote their answers out in longhand, one in very small handwriting. This made their worksheets difficult to grade and made me very unhappy, so please follow these directions!!

· Finally, turn in the worksheet to me as a hard copy on or before the March 29th due date. As I stress in the syllabus, I will not accept papers turned in after this date, so don’t put off doing assignment, which is very straightforward, off! Thanks in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Grading: As mentioned in the syllabus, the worksheet is worth 45 points, or 25% of your grade. In calculating your grade for this part of the assigned course work, I’ll the % of the points you got here out of the 75 possible and then multiply 45 by that %.

Worksheet Questions (worth 75 points combined)

The Vote (10 points combined):

· Put in the number of votes won by Cox and Valadao and their share of the vote. Note how these totals compared to the votes and share of the vote they won in the primary election (4 points).

· Describe the margin of victory in this race (was it close, a blowout, etc.) (2 points)

· How did this victory margin compare with other House races? Go the bottom of the first part, i.e. right above the “For More Information about the top-two primary, click here” prompt. (4 points)

The 2020 Race vs earlier races in the 21st District (worth 8 points combined):

· What are the two main similarities between the 2020 and 2018 races in the 21st District? (4 points)

· What are the two main differences between the 2020 and 2018 vs. the 2014 and 2016 elections in the 21st District (go the bottom of the site to get the information about the 2014 and 2016 races)? (4 points)

The 21st District (worth 4 points combined):

· Insert below the 2017 Cook Political Partisan Voter Index for the 21st District. (1 point)

· Given the Cook Index, why could one say that the outcome of the 2020 election is surprising? (3 points)

The Candidates (worth 4 points combined)

· Compare Cox and Valadao in the following two areas (4 points combined):

· Education (note who had more formal education). (2 points)

· Occupational background. (2 points)

The Campaign (Worth 49 points combined)

· How was the contest for the 21st Districted seen by various race trackers? (3 points)

· Candidate Platforms/websites, referred to as “themes” on the site (worth 8 points combined):

· List the main issues covered in the Cox and Valadao platforms/websites. You can say here “Cox” website: List his issues” and then “Valadao website: List his issues.” In doing this, just note the bold-faced bullet headings on both sites, not the text below them. (2 points)

· While the issues the Cox/Valadao platforms/websites are largely similar, what issues does Valadao’s platform mention that are not covered on Cox’s platform? Are there any issues mentioned on Cox’s platform that are not mentioned in Valadao’s platform? (2 points)

· Look at Valadao’s platform immigration bullet. How does his stance on immigration differ from that of President Trump? Why would it be important for Valadao to distance himself from Trump on this issue in the 21st District (keep in mind who lives in the 21st District)? (4 points)

· Financial and other support for the candidates (worth 10 points combined):

· Go to the “Campaign Finance” part of the Ballotpedia site on the race. Fill in the amounts of money raised by the candidates, noting which one, Cox or Valadao, raised the most money. Then briefly answer how we can explain the disparity in fundraising between the two candidates and why, given this disparity, the outcome of the race can be seen as a surprise. (6 points)

· Note the endorsements received by the candidates. Which of the three listed on the site might come as a surprise to you and why? (4 points)

· Campaign spot ads (here go to the “Campaign Ads” part of the site) (worth 18 points combined):

· Pro Cox ads (Watch the “For Us” and “Tackling Our Toughest Problems” spot ads). Answer the following questions about these two ads. How does Cox characterize himself in the ads? What problems is he saying he can solve? What party voters are mentioned in the “For Us” ad, and what is Cox trying to do here? Finally, in “Tackling Our Toughest Problems,” what does he accuse Valadao of doing? (5 points)

· Pro Valadao ads (Watch the “One of the most Bipartisan Members of Congress” and “David Valadao: Values over Party” spot ads). In both ads, but especially the “Bipartisan Members of Congress” spot, does Valadao say he’s a staunch Republican? Who does he say he’ll put first? What kind of person appears in “David Valadao: Values over Party” spot to endorse Valadao? What does he say Valadao will bring to the Valley? What particular group is Valadao appealing to in this spot (note Democrats have a marked edge in voter registration in this district, which has a large immigrant population)? Hint on this last question, think about what ethnic group makes up a large of the population in the 21st District. (5 points)

· Anti Cox spot ad (Watch the “T. J. Cox has Embarrassed Us” spot ad). How does the ad generally characterize Cox? What specific things does ad cite to back up that claim? (4 points)

· Anti Valadao spot ad (Watch the “What’s he Hiding” spot ad). How is this ad similar to the anti-Cox in terms of what it accuses Valadao of doing/being (hint: what do they say he’s hiding and about Valadao’s record in Congress?)? And besides attacking Valadao, how does the ad defend Cox? (4 points)

· Candidate debate. Here you’ll go to the “Debates and Forums” part of the site. Click on “Part II” of the KGET candidate debate. Then watch ONE of the debate segments listed in the bullets below and answer questions about it ( TO BE CLEAR, JUST DO ONE OF THE BULLETS BELOW!). Note: I’ve listed the times at which these segments appear in the debate—simply shift the time bar ball to the right to avoid watching the whole debate. Last but certainly not least, the bullets on this part of the worksheet are worth 10 points each (once more just answer one of the bullets ). Each debate segment lasted around 5-8 minutes.

· Undocumented Immigrants and “Dreamers” (First 5-6 minutes of the debate). Are both candidates generally pro-immigration in their remarks? How does Cox attack Valadao on this issue? In particular, does he bring Trump in here? And how does Valadao respond with respect to the “Dreamers” issue?

· Climate Change and banning the sale of gas-powered cars (next 16:00 to 21:29 minutes of the debate). Do both candidates agree that climate change is real and does Valadao distance himself from Trump here? What two issue does Valadao pivot into when answering whether climate change is real? In answering the moderator’s question regarding banning gas-powered cars, what does Cox say about Kern Co. and clean energy (note the comment on clean energy jobs vs. ones in oil refining)? Lastly, why is Valadao less enthusiastic about clean energy? Note what he says about who’ll be hurt shifting to it and the problems with solar power.

· Revitalizing the 21st District’s economy (next 21:29 to 28:39 minutes of the debate). What are the key resources Valadao cites for boosting the economy of the 21st District (here note the one he really emphasizes)? What Trump policies does he cite as being beneficial to the 21st District? List the investments Cox cites as being crucial for the district? In particular, what does he want every household in the district to have?