Chapter Seven (N&T) Flashcards
What do factions do to American political parties?
They change the identity of the party by refining, expanding and reforming. They can also cause a political party in control of the government to fail to achieve their goals.
How can we gauge how strong the party factions are?
We can gauge their strength by looking at the kinds of candidates who run in primaries and how they perform.
Who runs in Congressional primaries?
Most who run are men with a college degree or more. Candidates tend to be middle aged or older.
Why in the primaries do the different candidates take about very different issues when campaigning?
Primary candidates in the two political parties talk about very different issues in an effort to prove to their core voters that they can best represent them.
What defines Presidential Primaries?
Incumbents often run unopposed. When they do face serious primary challenges they usually win. The presidential primaries also feature two different conversations as the candidates attempt to appeal to the base of their party. The presidential primaries also define with even more clarity the factions within their parties.
what is the major difference between congressional and presidential primaries?
The presidential primary system consists of a sequence of contests - in which the success or failure in one primary has an important effect on success or failure in the subsequent contest. This is called ‘momentum’ and it makes the presidential nominating system unique.
