Chapter 8 Terms

Question 1

Spoils System

Answer 1

The practice of rewarding party supporters with benefits like federal government positions

Question 2

Realignments

Answer 2

A change in one or more of the factors that define a party system, including the issues that divide the parties, the nature and function of the party organizations, the composition of the party coalitions, and the specifics of government policy

Question 3

Party organization

Answer 3

The structure of national, state, and local parties, including party leaders and workers

Question 4

Party in government

Answer 4

Made up of the politicians who are elected as candidates of the party

Question 5

Party system

Answer 5

A term used to describe periods of time when the major parties’ names, their groups of supporters, and the issues dividing them have all been constant

Question 6

Era of Good Feelings

Answer 6

After the demise of the Federalist Party, there was only one political party: the Democratic-Republican Party. Following the election of Andrew Jackson, it became the Democratic party and the Whig Party was formed in opposition

Question 7

Party Principle

Answer 7

The idea that a party is not just a group of elected officials but an organization that exists apart from its candidates

Question 8

National Committee

Answer 8

The principal body in each party organization

Question 9

Constituency Groups (Dem) or Teams (Rep)

Answer 9

Organizations within the party that work to attract the support of demographic groups or organizations

Question 10

527 Organizations

Answer 10

A tax-exempt group formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts and to issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate. Unlike PACs, 527 organizations are not subject to contribution limits and spending caps

Question 10

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Answer 10

An interest group or a division of an interest group that can raise money to contribute to campaigns or to spend on ads in support of candidates. The amount a PAC can receive from each of its donors and the amount it can spend on federal electioneering are strictly limited

Question 11

Issue Ownership

Answer 11

Candidates from a party tend to concentrate their campaigns on issues that are part of their party’s brand name and ignore issues that belong to the other party

Question 12

Caucus

Answer 12

A local meeting in which party members select a party’s nominee for the general election

Question 13

Conference

Answer 13

The organization of republicans within the house and senate that meets to discuss and debate the party’s positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and assign leadership positions

Question 14

Unified Government

Answer 14

A situation in which one party holds a majority of seats in the House and Senate and the president is a member of that same party

Question 15

Divided Government

Answer 15

A situation in which the house, senate, and presidency are not controlled by the same party– for example, the democrats hold a majority of the house and senate seats and the president is a republican

Question 16

Party ID

Answer 16

A citizen’s loyalty to a specific party

Question 17

Negative Partisanship (Affective Partisanship)

Answer 17

Identification with a political party that is based on dislike of the other party rather than positive feelings about the party associated with

Question 18

Primary Election

Answer 18

An election in which voters choose the major-party nominees for political office, who subsequently compete in a general election

Question 19

Closed Primary

Answer 19

A primary election system in which only registered party members can vote in their party’s primary

Question 20

Non-Partisan Primary

Answer 20

A primary election system in which candidates from both parties are listed on the same primary ballot. Following a nonpartisan primary, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary compete in the general election, even if they are from the same party

Question 21

Open Primary

Answer 21

A primary election system in which any registered voter can participate in either party’s primary, regardless of the voter’s party affiliation

Question 22

Semi-Closed Primary

Answer 22

A primary election system in which voters registered as party members must vote in their party’s primary, but registered Independents can vote in either party’s primary

Question 23

Caucus Election

Answer 23

A series of local meetings at which registered voters select a particular candidate’s supporters as delegates who will vote for the candidate in a later, state-level convention. Caucuses are used in some states to select delegates to the major parties’ presidential nominating conventions. Some states’ caucuses are open to members of any part, while others are closed

Question 24

Party Platform

Answer 24

A set of objectives outlining the party’s issue positions and priorities. Candidates are not required to support their party’s platform

Question 25

Duverger's Law

Answer 25

The principle that in a democracy with single-member districts and plurality voting, only two party’s candidates will have a realistic chance of winning political office, as in the United States

Question 26

Single-Member Districts

Answer 26

An electoral system in which every elected official represents a geographically defined area, such as a state or congressional district, and each area elects one representative

Question 27

Plurality Voting

Answer 27

A voting system in which the candidate that receives the most votes in a geographic area wins the election, regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority of the votes