Chapter 9 Key Terms Flashcards
Nomination
The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
Campaign strategy
The master game plan candidates by out to guide their electoral capaign
National party convention
The supreme power within each of the parties
Caucus
A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention
Presidential primaries
Elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate for delegates pledged to him or her
Mcgovern-fraser commission
A commission formed at the 1968 democratic conventionin response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation
Superdelegates
National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the democratic national convention
Frontloading
The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention
National primary
A proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries, which would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year.
Regional primaries
A proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region
Party platform
A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years.
Direct mail
A high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate
Federal election campaign act
A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances
Federal election commission (FEC)
A six-member bipartisan agency created by the federal election campaign act of 1974.
Presidential election campaign fund
Money from the $3 federal income tax check-off goes into this fund, which is then distributed to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns.
Matching funds
Contributions of up to $250 are matched from the presidential election campaign fund to candidates for the presidential nomination who qualify and agree to meet various conditions, such as limited their overall spending.
Soft money
Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising.
Political action committee (PACs)
Funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms
Selective perception
The phenomenon that people often pay most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predisposition
