Chapter 6: Parties and Interest Groups Flashcards
Candidate-centered politics
Politics in which candidates promote themselves and their own campaigns rather than relying on party organizations.
Cause lobbyist
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.
Closed primary
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.
Contract lobbyists
Lobbyists who work for different causes for different clients, in the same way that a lawyer represents more than one client.
Crossover voting
Voting by a member of one party in another party’s primary. This practice is not allowed in all states.
Direct lobbying
A form of lobbying in which lobbyists deal directly with legislators to gain their support.
Factional splits or factions
Groups that struggle to control the message within a party; for example, a party may be split into competing regional factions.
General elections
Decisive elections in which all registered voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates for a political office.
Independent expenditures
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.
Indirect lobbying
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.
Nonpartisan election
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.
Open primary
A nominating election that is open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliations.
Party conventions
Meetings of party delegates called to nominate candidates for office and establish party agendas.
Polarization
A split among elected officials or an electorate along strictly partisan lines.
Political parties
Organizations that nominate and support candidates for elected offices.
Political or party machines
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.
Responsible party model
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.
Runoff primary
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.
Soft money
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.
Super PACs
Political action committees that can spend unlimited funds on behalf of political candidates but cannot directly coordinate their plans with those candidates
