Unit 7 Vocabulary

party realignment

dramatic shifts in partisan preferences that drastically alter the political landscape

critical election

an election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues and personalities

secular alignment

the gradual rearrangement of party coalitions, based more on demographic shifts than on shocks to the political system

candidate centered politics

politics that focus on the candidates, their particular issues, and character rather than party affiliation

national convention

a party meeting held in the presidential election year for the purposes of nominating a presidential & vice presidential ticket and adopting a platform

party polarization

the presence of increasingly conflicting and divided viewpoints between the Democratic and Republican parties

FEC

the Federal Election Commission is an independent federal agency that was created to enforce the nation’s election laws

Hatch Act

the 1939 act to prohibit civil servants from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns. It prohibited federal employees from making political campaign contributions

FECA

Federal Election Campaign Act (1974) made it legal for businesses, labor unions, and interest groups to form into political action committees (PACs)

BCRA

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002; it was an act to amend the FECA of 1971 to provide bipartisan campaign reform

PAC

political action committees; officially recognized fundraising organizations that represent interest groups and are allowed by federal law to make contributions directly to candidates’ campaigns

Super PACs

political action committees established to make independent expenditures

527 political committee

organizations created with the primary purpose of influencing electoral outcomes; the term is typically applied only to freestanding interest groups that do not explicitly advocate for the election of a candidate.

501(c) groups

interest groups whose primary purpose is not electoral politics

independent expenditures

spending for a campaign activity that is not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign

contrast ads

ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the ad

inoculation ads

advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched

hard money

campaign money raised for a specific candidate in federal elections and spent according to federal laws and restrictions

soft money

campaign money raised apart from federal regulation and can be given directly to one candidate

GOTV

get-out-the-vote; a push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls