Chapter 8: Political Parties, Candidates, and Campaigns

Political party

an ongoing coalition of interests joined together in an effort to get its candidates for public office elected under a common label

Candidate-centered campaigns

campaigns in which individual candidates devise their own strategies, choose their own issues, and form their own campaign organizations

Party-centered campaigns

campaigns in which the Republican and Democratic parties compete across the country election after election

Linkage Institution

institutions, like political parties, that serve to connect citizens with government

Party competition

A choice between candidates representing the Republican and Democratic parties, which narrows voters' options to two and in the process enables people with different backgrounds and opinions to act in unison

Grassroots party

a party organized chiefly at the local level and open to all citizens

Party realignment

a period of extraordinary party change, including three elements: 1) unusually powerful and divisive issues; 2) an election in which voters shift their partisan support; and 3) an enduring change in the parties' policies and coalitions

Straight ticket

casting votes for one party's candidates for both presidential and congressional candidates

Split ticket

casting votes for one party's presidential candidate and the other party's congressional candidate

Two-party system

two main parties dominate elections

Multiparty system

a system in which three or more parties have the capacity to gain control of government, separately or in coalition

Single-member districts

each constituency elects a single member to a particular office, such as U.S. senator or state representative

Plurality system or winner-take-all system

the candidate with the most votes (the plurality) in the district wins the office

Proportional representation system

a system in which seats in the legislature are distributed according to a party's share of the popular vote

Median voter theorem

if there are two parties, the parties can maximize their vote only if they position themselves at the voter whose preferences are exactly in the middle of the spectrum

Party coalition

the groups and interests that support a party

Gender gap

among whites, the Democratic Party draws more support from women than men

Party organizations

exist at the state, local and national level and concentrate on contesting elections

Nomination

the selection of the individual who will run as the party's candidate in the general election

Primary election

voters select the individual who will run as the party's candidate in the general election

Closed primaries

only voters registered or declared at the polls as members of the party can participate in that party's primary election

Open primaries

independents and sometimes voters of the other party are allowed to participate in a party's primary election

Top-two primaries

Candidates are listed on the same ballot without regard to party; the top two finishers become the general election candidates

Money chase

fund-raising necessary to run a competitive campaign

Hard money

the money given directly to the candidate and can be spent as he or she chooses

Soft money

money that can be raised freely by organizations (like PACs) that are not political parties and can be spent freely on campaigns as long as they do not coordinate their efforts with those of the candidate they support

Packaging a candidate

highlighting those aspects of the candidate's policy positions and personality that are thought most attractive to voters