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Candidate-centered campaigns
election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence.
gender gap
the tendency of white women and men to differ in their political attitudes and voting preferences.
grassroots party
a political party organized at the level of the voters and dependent on their support for its strength.
hard money
campaign funds given directly to candidates to spend as they choose
Linkage institution
an institution that serves to connect citizens with government. Linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media
median voter theorem
the theory that parties in a two-party system can maximize their vote by locating themselves at the position of the median voter—the voter whose preferences are exactly in the middle.
money chase
a term used to describe the fact that U.S. campaigns are very expensive and candidate must spend a great amount of time raising funds in order to compete successfully.
multiparty system
a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition.
nomination
the designation of a particular individual to run as a political party’s candidates (its “nominee”) in the general election.
packaging (of a candidate)
a term of modern campaigning that refers to the process of recasting a candidate’s record into an appealing image
party-centered campaigns
election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties not individual candidates, hold most of the initiativeparty and influence.
party coalition
the groups and interests that support a political party.
party competition
a process in which conflict over society’s goals is transformed by political parties in electoral competition in which the winner gains the power to govern.
party organizations
the party organizational units at national, State, and local levels; their influence has decreased over time because of many factors.
party realignments
an election or set of elections in which the electorate responds strongly to an extraordinary powerful issue that has disrupted the established political order. A realignment has a lasting impact on public policy, popular support for the parties, and the composition of the party coalition.
political party
an ongoing coalition of interests joined together to try to get their candidates for public office elected under a common label.
primary election
a form of election in which voters choose a party’s nominees for public office. In most states, eligibility to vote in a primary election is limited to votes who designated themselves as party members when they registered to vote.
proportional representation system
a form of representation in which seats in the legislature are allocated proportionally according to each political party’s share of the popular vote. This system enables smaller parties to compete successfully for seats.
Single-member districts
the form of representation in which only the candidate who gets the most votes in a district wins office.
single-member system
this winner-take-all or plurality system discourages minor parties by reducing their chances of winning anything, even if they perform well by minor-party standards.
two-party system
a system in which only two political parties have a really chance of acquiring control of the government.
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