BEATRIZSANTILLANES Flashcards
CHAPTER 11 VOCAB
Political Party
An organized group that may include office holders, candidates, activists, and voters who pursue their common interests by gaining and exercising power through the electoral process.
Thomas Jefferson
Principle drafter of the Declaration of Independence; second vice president of the United States; third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. Cofounder of the Democratic-Republican Party.
Political Machine
A party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over member activity.
Candidate-Centered Politics
Politics that focus on the candidate, their particular issues, and character rather than party affiliation.
Party Realignment
Dramatic shifts in partisan preferences that drastically alter the political landscape.
Critical Election
An election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues and personalities.
Secular Realignment
The gradual rearrangement of party coalitions, based more on demographic shifts than on shocks to the political system.
National Convention
A party meeting held in the presidential election year for the purposes of nominating a presidential and vice presidential ticket and adopting a platform.
Delegate
Role played by representative who votes the way his or her constituents would want, regardless of personal opinions; may refer to an elected representative to Congress or a representative to the party convention.
Superdelegate
Delegate to the Democratic Party’s national convention that is reserved for a party official and whose vote at the convention is unpledged to a candidate.
Donald J. Trump
The forty-fifth president, a republican, elected in 2016; first president elected without prior political or military experience; an experienced businessman.
National Party Platform
A statement of the general and specific philosophy and policy goals of a political party, usually promulgated at the national convention.
Barack Obama
The first African American president of the United States, a Democrat, who served as forty-fourth president from 2009 to 2017. Senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008; member of the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.
Party Identification
A citizen’s attachment to a political party based on issues, ideology, past experience, or upbringing, which tends to be a reliable indicator of likely voting choices.
Hillary Clinton
First female major party candidate for president of the United States, a democrat, who ran against President Donald J. Trump in 2016. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013; New York senator from 2001 to 2009; former first lady.
