Test 1.3

Question 1

527 committees

Answer 1

nonprofit independent groups that receive and disburse funds to influence the nomination, election, or defeat of candidates.

Question 2

caucus

Answer 2

a normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters.

Question 3

divided government

Answer 3

the condition in American government wherein the presidency is controlled by one party while the opposing party controls one or both houses of Congress.

Question 4

electoral realignment

Answer 4

the point in history when a new party supplants the ruling party, becoming in turn the dominant political force.

Question 5

gender gap

Answer 5

a distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men.

Question 6

machines

Answer 6

strong party organizations in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century American cities.

Question 7

majority party

Answer 7

the party that holds the most legislative seats in either the House or the Senate.

Question 8

minority party

Answer 8

the party that holds the least legislative seats in either the House or the Senate.

Question 9

national convention

Answer 9

a national party political institution that nominates the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates, establishes party rules, and writes and ratifies the party’s platform.

Question 10

nomination

Answer 10

the process by which political parties select their candidates for election to public office.

Question 11

party activists

Answer 11

partisans who contribute time, energy, and effort to support their party and its candidates.

Question 12

party identification

Answer 12

an individual voter’s psychological ties to one party or another.

Question 13

party organization

Answer 13

the formal structure of a political party, including its leadership, election committees, active members, and paid staff.

Question 14

party polarization

Answer 14

the division between the two major parties on most policy issues, with members of each party unified around their party’s positions with little crossover.

Question 15

patronage

Answer 15

the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters.

Question 16

platform

Answer 16

a party document, written at a national convention, that contains party philosophy, principles, and positions on issues.

Question 17

policy entrepreneur

Answer 17

an individual who identifies a problem as a political issue and brings a proposal into the political agenda.

Question 18

political parties

Answer 18

organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices.

Question 19

soft money

Answer 19

funds contributed directly to political parties and other organizations for political activities that is not regulated by federal campaign spending laws.

Question 20

third parties

Answer 20

parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties.

Question 21

two-party system

Answer 21

a political structure in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control.