Chapter 6: Parties and Interest Groups

Question 1

Candidate-centered politics

Answer 1

Politics in which candidates promote themselves and their own campaigns rather than relying on party organizations.

Question 2

Cause lobbyist

Answer 2

A person who works for an organization that tracks and promotes an issue—for example, environmental issues for the Sierra Club or gun ownership rights for the National Rifle Association.

Question 3

Closed primary

Answer 3

A nominating election in which only voters belonging to that party may participate. Only registered Democrats can vote in a closed Democratic primary, for example.

Question 4

Contract lobbyists

Answer 4

Lobbyists who work for different causes for different clients, in the same way that a lawyer represents more than one client.

Question 5

Crossover voting

Answer 5

Voting by a member of one party in another party’s primary. This practice is not allowed in all states.

Question 6

Direct lobbying

Answer 6

A form of lobbying in which lobbyists deal directly with legislators to gain their support.

Question 7

Factional splits or factions

Answer 7

Groups that struggle to control the message within a party; for example, a party may be split into competing regional factions.

Question 8

General elections

Answer 8

Decisive elections in which all registered voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates for a political office.

Question 9

Independent expenditures

Answer 9

Funds spent on ad campaigns or other political activities that are run by a party or an outside group without the direct knowledge or approval of a particular candidate for office.

Question 10

Indirect lobbying

Answer 10

A form of lobbying in which lobbyists build support for their cause through the media, rallies, and other ways of influencing public opinion, with the ultimate goal of swaying legislators to support their cause.

Question 11

Nonpartisan election

Answer 11

An election in which the candidates do not have to declare party affiliation or receive a party’s nomination; local offices and elections are often nonpartisan.

Question 12

Open primary

Answer 12

A nominating election that is open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliations.

Question 13

Party conventions

Answer 13

Meetings of party delegates called to nominate candidates for office and establish party agendas.

Question 14

Polarization

Answer 14

A split among elected officials or an electorate along strictly partisan lines.

Question 15

Political parties

Answer 15

Organizations that nominate and support candidates for elected offices.

Question 16

Political or party machines

Answer 16

Political organizations controlled by small numbers of people and run for partisan ends. In the 19th and 20th centuries, these organizations controlled party nominations for public office and rewarded supporters with government jobs and contracts.

Question 17

Responsible party model

Answer 17

The theory that political parties offer clear policy choices to voters, try to deliver on those policies when they take office, and are held accountable by voters for the success or failure of those policies.

Question 18

Runoff primary

Answer 18

An election held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote during the regular primary. The top two finishers face off again in a runoff to determine the nominee for the general election. Such elections are held only in some states, primarily in the South.

Question 19

Soft money

Answer 19

Money not subject to federal regulation that can be raised and spent by state political parties. A 2002 law banned the use of soft money in federal elections.

Question 20

Super PACs

Answer 20

Political action committees that can spend unlimited funds on behalf of political candidates but cannot directly coordinate their plans with those candidates