Exam 2 Texas Govt (Ch 4)

The fundamental principles and positions supported by a political party are explained in the
a. party guidebook.
b. party primary.
c. party manifesto.
d. party platform.

d

Which of the following is a way in which parties help voters during elections?
a. recruit nominees for office
b. raise money
c. provide volunteers to serve as election judges
d. give voters a party label they can identify with when deciding how to vote

d

In Texas, political parties help candidates by providing
a. legal assistance to respond to policy challenges.
b. fundraising for constitutional amendments.
c. training for a campaign.
d. materials needed to run a negative campaign.

c

When Tip O'Neill said, "all politics is local," he was talking about how
a.
powerful local interests are in state politics.
b.
local issues are not generally ideological.
c.
all meaningful decisions are made by state and local governments.
d.
the federal government only has powers granted to it by state governments.

b

Why might parties at the state level have less power than those at the national level?
a.
The creation of party primaries took control of the nomination from party leaders and gave it to the voters.
b.
Voters are more concerned with policy proposals, such as public works programs, rather than partisanship.
c.
The rise of media campaigns made candidates more reliant on money than local party volunteers.
d.
Much needed funding is usually donated to the national party level, leaving states without much influence.

b

Members of the Texas Republican Party have become more conservative and members of the Texas Democratic Party have become more liberal. This evolution best defines
a. partisan drift.
b. partisan allegiance.
c. partisan polarization.
d. the two-party system.

c

The process of ________ occurs throughout our early years, when parents, religious leaders, teachers, and others influence our partisan identifications.
a. acculturation
b. political partisanship
c. political culture
d. political socialization

d

Texans are increasingly identifying themselves as
a. Republican
b. Independent
c. Democratic
d. Libertarian

b

Since 1994, the state government of Texas
a. has been controlled equally by the two major parties.
b. often shifts in terms of which party is in control.
c. has been dominated by the Democratic Party.
d. has been dominated by the Republican Party.

d

Why are Texas Republicans considered to be in a divided moment?
a. because Republicans are divided over Latino voter recruitment
b. because coalition between the Latino and African American voters has dominated Texas politics in recent years, and the Tea Party movement is becoming more influential within Texas politics and government
c. because of the rise of independent voters and the growing influence of the Tea Party movement
d. because there is tension between pro-business Republicans, who have traditionally dominated Texas politics, and the Tea Party movement that is becoming more influential within Texas politics and government

d

Which movement has had the largest impact on state legislative races in recent years?
a. the Tea Party movement
b. La Raza Unida
c. the Libertarian movement
d. the Green Party movement

a

Texas Democrats have been relegated to a minority status at the state level since

1994

Most Texas Democrats today would be classified as

liberal

In order to win statewide elections, Democrats in Texas want to mobilize which of the following to vote?
a. Latinos
b. African Americans
c. Asian Americans
d. women living in rural areas

a

The fastest-growing demographic group in Texas is ________, the majority of whom vote ________.
a. Latino; Democratic
b. white; Democratic
c. Latino; Republican
d. African American; Republican

a

No Democrat has won Texas in a presidential race since ________.
a. Barack Obama
b. Bill Clinton
c. Jimmy Carter
d. Ann Richards

c

In recent presidential elections, Texas has:
a. consistently supported the Democratic nominee.
b. consistently supported the Republican nominee.
c. consistently supported the Independent nominee.
d. never consistently supported only one party's nominee.

b

What is the most basic level of the permanent party organization in Texas?
a. ward chair
b. district chair
c. county chair
d. precinct chair

d

Which statement correctly describes the requirements for membership in a major political party in Texas?
a. An individual must apply for membership through a formal process.
b. An individual must have voted in two party primaries in successive elections.
c. One must be a registered voter in the state of Texas and 21 years of age.
d. With no requirements, a registered voter simply chooses which party primary to vote in.

d

The main role of the precinct conventions is to select delegates to the ________ and possibly to submit resolutions that may eventually become part of the party platform.
a. state executive committee
b. county convention
c. precinct convention
d. state convention

b

The ________ convention is a meeting held by a political party following its precinct convention for the purpose of electing delegates to its state convention.
a. city
b. regional
c. precinct convention
d. state convention

c

The Latino movement known as La Raza Unida occurred during the
a. 1920s.
b. 1940s.
c. 1960s.
d. 1980s.

c

In a "nonpartisan" election,
a. anyone voting in the election must not be a member of a political party.
b. the party affiliations of candidates are not listed on the ballot.
c. candidates participating in the election cannot be affiliated with a political party.
d. only members of "third parties" can participate.

b

The States' Rights Party, also known as the Dixiecrats, split with the national Democratic Party over which issue?
a. racial integration
b. military intervention in Vietnam
c. education policy
d. economic policy

a

Why don't Texans vote for third parties?
a. Because Texas employs what is known as a "first past the post," single-member district electoral system, it makes it difficult for third party candidates to win elections.
b. Third-party candidates really do not make a real effort to win.
c. Third-party candidates do not establish clear-cut positions on issues where there is broad agreement.
d. Third-party candidates develop a campaign strategy that is too narrowly focused.

a

The Libertarian Party can be considered
a. fiscal and social liberals.
b. fiscal conservatives and social liberals.
c. fiscal and social conservatives.
d. fiscal liberals and social conservatives.

b

Duverger's Law states that
a. proportional representation systems result in two-party systems.
b. one-party systems are the result of white flight.
c. single-member district systems result in two-party systems.
d. presidential Republicanism results in ticket splitting.

c

a. Proportional representation
b. Duverger's Law
c. A single-member district
d. Multimember representation

a

(TRUE/FALSE)
1. Texas voters often use the party affiliation of the candidates as a way to make voting decisions.

t

(TRUE/FALSE)
2. Local issues are always ideological in nature.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
3. Texas Republicans have held all major statewide elected offices since 1980.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
4. Texas requires people to designate party affiliation when registering to vote.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
5. The Libertarian Party is both socially and economically liberal.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
6. Texas Democrats have been relegated to minority status in the state since 1994.

t

(TRUE/FALSE)
7. Partisan polarization makes it difficult to get legislation passed in the legislature.

t

(TRUE/FALSE)
8. In Texas, the most local level of a party organization is the county.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
9. The primary function of the precinct convention is to write the party platform.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
10. Social media is an important fundraising tool because it is less costly to solicit campaign contributions using social media than through other methods.

t

(TRUE/FALSE)
11. Most third-party candidates in Texas are unsuccessful in their electoral bids.

t

(TRUE/FALSE)
12. The Dixiecrat movement led by Strom Thurmond in 1948 opposed the segregationist ideas of President Harry S. Truman.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
13. Duverger's Law states that single-member districts result in two-party systems.

t

(TRUE/FALSE)
14. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Texas was a competitive, two-party state.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
15. Blue Dog Democrats are becoming more and more popular in Texas.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
16. Latinos have the largest percentage share of voters in Texas.

f

(TRUE/FALSE)
17. The Tea Party movement is strong in Texas.

t

Similar to other southern states, Texas is
a. religious and socially conservative.
b. socially liberal and not religious.
c. ethnically homogenous.
d. ideologically diverse.

a

By focusing on influencing the Republican primary elections, the Tea Party in Texas is trying to
a. get Tea Party-supported candidates on the ballot, but under the Republican party label.
b. get the experience necessary to become a major party.
c. split the vote among multiple candidates to force runoff elections.
d. bypass state ballot access guidelines for third party candidates.

a

Most of the African American population of Texas is concentrated in
a. the Panhandle
b. West Texas
c. suburban Brownsville
d. East Texas

d

In Texas today, rural areas have become more ______________, while urban areas have become more ___________.
a. nonpartisan; Libertarian
b. Shivercrat; Tea Party
c. Democratic; Republican
d. Republican; Democratic

d

Between 2008 and 2018, countywide elections in Dallas County
a. were split 50-50 by Democrats and Republicans.
b. were swept by Republicans.
c. were swept by Democrats.
d. were split equally by Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians.

c

The mass exodus of more affluent whites from urban areas to suburban areas is sometimes referred to as
a. urban withdrawal.
b. white flight.
c. tax-base erosion.
d. urban racism.

b

When intraparty disputes split members into different groups, these groups are referred to as
a. factions
b. teams
c. enemies
d. subparties

a

Between 1927 and 1949, how many Republicans were in the Texas legislature?
a. 15
b. 0
c. 25
d. 50

b

Conservative Democrats in Texas are also known as
a. Blue Dog Democrats.
b. Yellow Dog Democrats.
c. Republicans.
d. Libertarians.

a

What event marked a significant change in how Texans began to vote not only in presidential elections but also in state elections?
a. Michael Dukakis won Texas in 1988.
b. George H. W. Bush moved to Texas.
c. George H. W. Bush won Texas in the general election of 2000.
d. Ronald Reagan was elected as President.

d

By about the 1940s, a split between liberals and conservatives developed in the Democratic Party that focused on
a. labor and civil liberties measures.
b. New Deal economic policies and civil rights measures.
c. education and civil rights measures.
d. war and New Deal economic policies.

b

Although the Democratic Party dominated state politics for much of the twentieth century, by the 1950s it faced internal divisions between ________ and ________ Democrats.
a. liberal; conservative
b. moderate; liberal
c. conservative; moderate
d. Blue Dog Democrats; Yellow Dog

a

In the post-Civil War era, the only parts of Texas that showed significant Republican leanings were
a. counties in the Panhandle.
b. rural areas in East Texas.
c. counties located along the Rio Grande River.
d. German counties in the Texas Hill Country.

d

Presidential Republicanism describes a pattern when Texan voters would vote for a Republican president and
a. conservative Republicans for state offices.
b. conservative Democrats for state offices.
c. conservative Democrats for the U.S. House and Senate.
d. conservative Republicans for the U.S. House and Senate.

b

The ________ movement was a movement during the 1950s in which conservative Democrats in Texas supported Republican candidate Dwight Eisenhower for the presidency because many of those conservative Democrats believed that the national Democratic Party had become too liberal.
a. Dixiecrat
b. La Raza Unida
c. Shivercrat
d. Constitutionalist

c

Political parties are now using social media in order to
a. conduct exit polling.
b. mobilize voters.
c. filibuster in the Senate.
d. facilitate nonpartisan elections.

b