week 8

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, including 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.

Money chase

A term used to describe the expensive nature of U.S. campaigns, requiring candidates to spend a great amount of time raising funds.

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 candidate in the general election.

Packaging (of a candidate)

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 hold most of the initiative 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 into electoral competition.

Party organizations

The party organizational units at national, state, and local levels; their influence has decreased over time.

Party realignments

An election or set of elections in which the electorate responds strongly to a powerful issue that disrupts the political order.

Political party

An ongoing coalition of interests joined together to try to get their candidates for public office elected.

Primary election

A form of election in which voters choose a party’s nominees for public office.

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.

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

A winner-take-all system that discourages minor parties by reducing their chances of winning.

Two-party system

A system in which only two political parties have a real chance of acquiring control of the government.