Exam 2 Ch 6 Flashcards
Factional Splits
Groups that struggle to control the message within a party; ex: party may split into competing regional factions
History of major political parties
1820-1940 - political parties constituted leading organizing force in this country
Did Major political parties play a bigger role at state or national level?
State level
Since the 1850’s, what were the two main political parties? Did the country start with parties?
Democratic and Republican
No, factions developed soon after like the Federalists and Democractic-Republicans
Why did the Democratic Party Split
Over slavery
North - opposed
South - support
Republican party formed in 1854 in opposition (GOP)
State parties are like
consortia of local parties
And each national parties is a consortium of state parties
Superdelegate
Unpledged delegate to Democratic National Convention who is automatically seated and can vote for whoever they want
-usually party leaders and elected officials
-not allowed to vote in first round unless someone received enough delegates since 2018
In 2020, the DNC…
required candidates to meet minimum thresholds in # of donors and support in polls to qualify for televised debates
Except in this state___, all state legislatures are organized by party
Nebraska
Political/Party machines
Organizations controlled by small # of people and run for partisan ends. These orgs controled party nominations for public office and rewarded supporters with government jobs and contracts in 19-20th century
Rhode Island through the 20th century was dominated by…
Democratic party, leaders controlled 2800 jobs
Nonpartisan ballots
Ballots that don’t list the candidate’s party affiliation, used in local elections
Because of primary elections…
State parties lost much of their influence
General elections
Decisive elections where all registered voters cast ballots for preferred candidates for a political office. In primaries, voters select who they want to represent party in generals.
Party conventions
Meetings of party delegates called to nominate candidates for office and establish party agendas. Used before primaries were common
Closed Primary
Nominating election where only voters belonging to that party can participate
Open Primary
Anyone can vote regardless of party
Crossover Voting
Person of another party voting in a different party’s primary. Not allowed in all states
Runoff Primary
If no candidate receives majority of vote during regular primary, election held where top two finishers face off in runoff to determine who is in the generals.
California Democratic Party vs. Jones (2000)
California’s blanket primary violates a political party’s First Amendment right of Association
Blanket - all candidates form all parties listed on one ballot, voters allowed to mix and match primaries they participate in
Which state conducts a Jungle Primary and what is that?
Louisiana - all candidates run in same primary regardless of party and will have runoff if no majority reached
Which state(s) uses ‘top two’ primary systems
Washington State and California - candidates from all parties appear together on single ballot, and top two finishers regardless of party go to general
Super PACs
Political action committees that can spend unlimited funds on behalf of political candidates but cannot directly coordinate their plans with those candidates
Citizens United Vs. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Under the 1st Amendment, made it possible for lightly regulated independent groups to spend unlimited sums on political campaigns
During the 2010s dark money groups…
spent more than $1 billion on politics
In 2018 polling by Gallup, how many Americans were independent?
42%
What did Ross Perot, Texas computer billionaire in 1992 do?
Most successful independent presidential candidate in decades, took 19% but didn’t carry a single state
Green Party went from being on __ in 2016 to only __ in 2020.
44 ballots
30 ballots
How many governors during the past 50 years were not Democrat or Republican?
Seven/7
What are the four nationally-organized third parties?
Libertarian Party,
Green Party
Constitution Party
Working Families Party
In 2015, lobbyists spend nearly twice as much money trying to…
influence the legislature in Pennsylvania as the state paid to operate the legislature itself.
Interest Groups and Lobbies
40,000 lobbyists are working in state capitals
Lobbying in the states now a billion-dollar business every year, nearing 1.7 billion in both 2017 and 2018
California alone spent over 350 million on lobbying
“Should parties have more say in picking presidential candidates?
Support from party leaders had once been essential for candidates seeking to raise money from donors or garner media attention
But voters are put off by any attempt by party officials to try to dictate whom they should support
Party leaders - including officials with the state and national parties, play considerable role in helping guide voters towards preferred choice
Contract Lobbyist
Work for different causes for different clients
Cause Lobbyist
Person who works for organization that tracks and promotes an issue
Direct Lobbying
Form which lobbyists deal directly with legislators to gain their support
