question

Campaign ads often target

answer

moderate voters

question

Incumbents are more likely to win than challengers because they have the advantage of _____

answer

name recognition and an established public image

question

Many more voters turn out in the ___

answer

general election than in the primary

question

Superdelegates are _____

answer

voting delegates in the party convention who are not chosen in the same way as other delegates

question

_____ get much of the focus and money from presidential campaigns leading up to an election

answer

Battleground or swing states and voters

question

An incumbent is a(n) ______

answer

current elected official running for reelection

question

A group that often funds political campaigns on behalf of a candidate is ____

answer

a political action committee

question

In most states, whichever candidate receives the most votes in the primary or caucus receives _____ of the state's delegate votes.

answer

all

question

States use ____ or ____ systems to select delegates, who then vote int he party's national convention.

answer

primary; caucus

question

What media do candidates most commonly rely on to contact voters?

answer

Direct mail, television, newspaper, and Internet

question

What topic is the most consistent predictor of presidential election outcomes?

answer

The state of the economy

question

Party meetings in which rank-and-file members of the party have a chance to give speeches in support of their favored presidential candidates before awarding votes to elect the party's candidate are known as _____

answer

caucuses

question

Hard money is campaign contributions _____

answer

dedicated to candidate-specific activities

question

Voters vote at ____

answer

polling stations

question

Members of the electoral college are distributed according to _____

answer

the number of senators and members of the House of Representatives representing each state

question

Candidates have the option of receiving ____, but they must agree to certain spending restrictions when they do

answer

public funding

question

What is the role of a primary election?

answer

To let voters select a party candidate

question

_____ is on factor that political scientists look to when predicting how a voter will vote

answer

Party-affiliation

question

In every presidential campaign, each party holds an event at which delegates from each state choose the party's nominee. This is called ______

answer

the national convention

question

______ forms a crucial part of a campaign's strategy.

answer

Increasing voter turnout

question

How does the government contribute to campaign funding?

answer

Each party's candidate can choose to receive a lump sum of funds to use between the convention and the general election.

question

Why would candidates refuse campaign funding from the federal government?

answer

Those candidates have to submit to other restrictions but fewer restrictions apply if candidates raise money independently.

question

_____ and ____ are subject to different sets of spending restrictions.

answer

Hard money; soft money

question

Retrospective voting is when individuals vote for or against an incumbent to reward or punish that candidate's behavior in office. How does this serve democracy?

answer

Voters can hold officials accountable for policy decisions they made in the previous term.

question

What is the role of elections in democracy?

answer

It is the mechanism through which voters choose who governs.

question

In which state was there a ballot-counting controversy in the 2000 election?

answer

Florida

question

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform is called a _____

answer

caucus

question

How many House incumbents ran unopposed in 2010?

answer

29

question

In 2008, North Carolina Senatorial candidate Kay Hagan received how much in independent expenditures?

answer

$109 million

question

Which of the following means that the length of term in office is specified?

answer

Fixed terms

question

Which of the following statements is true about elections in the United States?

answer

Elections are held at fixed intervals

question

The costs of running for office have been rising because of the professionalization of campaigns and the ____

answer

heavy costs of a media campaign, especially TV air-time costs

question

The constitutional rules governing the Electoral College make which of these possible?

answer

The candidate who gets the most popular votes might not become president

question

The part of the political campaign aimed at winning a primary, that begins the moment the candidate decides to run, is referred to as the _____

answer

nomination campaign

question

Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office is known as _____

answer

independent expenditures

question

Political action committees are ______

answer

committees organized by interest groups to channel money to parties and candidates

question

What is the annual limit on independent expenditures by parties and interest groups?

answer

There is no limit

question

How much public financing did Barack Obama take int he 2008 general election?

answer

$0

question

Candidates should present broad, moderate appeal in order to _____

answer

win the general election

question

According to the Federal Election Campaign Act, candidates must _____

answer

disclose who contributed to their campaigns and how the money was spent

question

An organization that pools resources to donate to or support campaigns is called a ____

answer

PAC (political action committee)

question

Which of the following statements is true about elections held in the United States?

answer

Elections are held at fixed intervals.

question

Many reforms to the presidential election system have been proposed. Reforms target many parts of the system, including _____

answer

the primary system, the Electoral College, and campaign-finance laws

question

Super-PACs emerged ____

answer

in 2010

question

The vice presidential nominee is usually _____

answer

selected by the delegates somewhat as a formality, since the vast majority always vote for whomever the presidential nominee picks

question

Which of the following is true about political action committees (PAC)?

answer

They must report their contributions to the Federal Commision

question

The two basic methods of voter canvassing are _____

answer

door-to-door solicitations and phone banks

question

_____ are voters who do not align themselves with one of the two major parties, Democrats or Republicans

answer

Independents

question

What can be a problematic implication of a candidate accepting money from a specific interest group?

answer

If elected, the candidate feels that they must advance the interest group's agenda

question

The plurality rule in American elections means that _____

answer

a candidate must simply receive more votes than any other candidate to win

question

During the nomination campaign, party leaders are primarily concerned with ____, while party activists are concerned with _____

answer

electability, ideology

question

_____ gives(s) candidates a chance to show off their oratory skills and discuss campaign platforms

answer

Debates

question

Partisan gerrymandering does which of the following?

answer

Increases the likelihood of the re-election of incumbents

question

Presidential candidates' efforts to meet as many voters as possible are ______

answer

mostly symbolic since the candidates can meet only a very small fraction of the electorate

question

The American electoral system is based on winner-take-all. These rules encourage a(n) _____

answer

moderate two-party system

question

Political scientists do not see debates as consistently predictive of election outcomes. But at times debates can change some voters' minds. Why?

answer

Often this is the first time voters can compare the two candidates alongside each other

Poli Sci Chapter 8 Campaigns and Elections – Flashcards

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