Chapter 7

Question 1

A specific political party’s leaders and workers at the national, state, and local levels. (page 242)

Answer 1

party organization

Question 2

The group of officeholders who belong to a specific political party and were elected as candidates of that party. (page 242)

Answer 2

party in government

Question 3

The group of citizens who identify with a specific political party. (page 242)

Answer 3

party in electorate

Question 4

A period in which the names of the major political parties, their supporters, and the issues dividing them remain relatively stable. (page 242)

Answer 4

party system

Question 5

The idea that a political party exists as an organization distinct from its elected officials or party leaders. (page 244)

Answer 5

party principle

Question 6

The practice of rewarding party supporters with benefits like federal government positions. (page 244)

Answer 6

spoils system

Question 7

The assemblage of groups who aligned with and supported the Democratic Party in support of New Deal policies during the fifth party system, including African Americans, Catholics, Jewish people, union members, and white southerners. (page 245)

Answer 7

New Deal Coalition

Question 8

A change in the size or composition of the party coalitions or in the nature of the issues that divide the parties. Realignments typically occur within an election cycle or two, but they can also occur gradually over the course of a decade or longer. (page 246)

Answer 8

realignment

Question 9

An American political party’s principal organization, comprising party representatives from each state. (page 247)

Answer 9

national committee

Question 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. (page 248)

Answer 10

political action committee (PAC)

Question 11

A tax-exempt group formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts and issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate. Unlike political action committees, they are not subject to contribution limits and spending caps. (page 248)

Answer 11

527 organization

Question 12

An unofficial patronage system within a political party that seeks to gain political power and government contracts, jobs, and other benefits for party leaders, workers, and supporters. (page 251)

Answer 12

political machine

Question 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 to assign leadership positions. (page 253)

Answer 13

conference

Question 14

A citizen’s loyalty to a specific political party. (page 256)

Answer 14

party identification (party ID)

Question 15

The organization of Democrats 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 to assign leadership positions. (page 253)

Answer 15

caucus (congressional)

Question 16

The groups that identify with a political party, usually described in demographic terms such as African American Democrats or evangelical Republicans. (page 258)

Answer 16

party coalitions

Question 17

A ballot vote in which citizens select a party’s nominee for the general election. (page 261)

Answer 17

primary election

Question 18

A local meeting in which party members select a party’s nominee for the general election. (page 261)

Answer 18

caucus (electoral)

Question 19

A meeting held by each party every four years at which states’ delegates select the party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees and approve the party platform. (page 262)

Answer 19

nominating convention

Question 20

A set of objectives outlining the party’s issue positions and priorities. Candidates are not required to support their party’s platform. (page 265)

Answer 20

party platform

Question 21

The theory that lawmakers from the same party will cooperate to develop policy proposals. (page 266)

Answer 21

conditional party government

Question 22

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. (page 269)

Answer 22

unified government

Question 23

A situation in which the House, Senate, and presidency are not controlled by the same party, such as if Democrats hold the majority of House and Senate seats, and the president is a Republican. (page 269)

Answer 23

divided government

Question 24

The principle that in a democracy with single-member districts and plurality voting, like the United States, only two parties’ candidates will have a realistic chance of winning political office. (page 271)

Answer 24

Duverger’s law

Question 25

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. (page 271)

Answer 25

single-member districts

Question 26

A voting system in which the candidate who receives the most votes within a geographic area wins the election, regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority (more than half) of the votes. (page 271)

Answer 26

plurality voting