Campaigns

Chapter 18/19/20 of AP Government Unit 5

Super PACs

Unlike PACs, they can spend as much as they want. By law, they CANNOT coordinate with the candidate. Unlimited donations by the ultrawealthy to these groups is sometimes called DARK MONEY.

BCRA

Acronym for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 tried to limit money in politics - large parts of it were found unconstitutional in Citizens United v. FEC of 2010

Recall

A vote to remove a politician from office - this does not happen at the federal level. Some states have this to remove local and state officials.

Sound Bite

Any quick, snappy comment made by politicians to fit into a brief segment on the news (e.g. “but I didn’t inhale” or “lock her up”

Block

A type of grant that the federal government gives to states that allows the broadest discretion in the spending of money (e.g., education, healthcare).

House

If no one wins the Electoral College with 270 electoral college votes, the Constitution mandates that the election goes to the…

Random

To be valid, polls must be draw from a (blank) segment of society - in other words not all from the South, not all college grads, not all Hispanic, etc.

No

Thanks to gerrymarrying (redistricting) are most House elections competitive? (**hint** two letter answer begins with N!)

Runoff

In some races in some states, if no one wins a majority (only a plurality) of the votes in an election, then a (blank) election is held between the top 2 vote getters (ensuring a majority winner)

Scandals

Much political coverage is dedicated to uncovering these rather than covering the issues (e.g. Watergate, Bill Clinton’s shenanigans etc.)

Yes

Can poll results be manipulated by asking questions in a certain way?

Incumbent

A person in office - has the advantage in fundraising

Primary

Before one runs in the general election, they may have to win their party’s (blank). This may result in Democrats choosing a more liberal (rather than a moderate) or Republicans choosing a more conservative (rather than moderate) candidate that may not appeal to the average voter.

Closed

An primary election in which only party members may choose their candidate (more common - Ohio is like this)

Gaffe

A mistake that candidates and politicians make such as Howard Dean’s scream or Dan Quayle’s spelling.

Initiative

A voter (blank) allows citizens to collect signatures and put issues on the ballot in their state. e.g. abortion rights and recreational drugs (not this is only on the state level)

Experts

Members of Congress tend to listen to lobbyists because politicians are not (blanks) on many subjects (e.g. Health Care or National Security)

Machine

Boss Tweed ran a political (blank) and chose all of the candidates to run for certain offices (very corrupt). Today the primary process has lessened the amount of power political parties withhold

Polls

Most politicians and parties look at (blanks) to determine which issues to focus on.

PACs

A private organization that raises and distributes funds to influence federal elections, supporting or defeating candidates, parties, or legislation (look at 2 Down on the crossword if you want Mr. Kwi’s definition, it kinda sucked)

Access

Is has been said that big campaign donors are not buying votes, rather they are buying (blank) to the politicians.

Hard

(blank) money is directly to candidates. It is limited by law and regulated by the FEC. In contrast, SOFT money goes to party building and is unregulated.

Push Poll

A type of poll that attempts to spread false information about a candidate (e.g. “Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew her had fathered an illegitimate black child?”) FYI - his family adopted this child from Bangladesh.

Convention

Historically, candidates were chosen by the rank-and-file party members at one of these (but it was found thar party bosses may have too much influence). Therefore, the direct primary took its place.

Iowa

They go first in the nomination process for Republicans - they have a caucus (group meetings) not a primary

Horserace

Political coverage is often critiqued as being this. It refers to coverage detailing whose ahead or behind in the polls rather than any sort of coverage on issues (e.g. tax policy).

Ranked Choice

A form of voting that allows voters to choose a “second” choice. The idea is that one doesn’t have to worry about throwing their vote away when voting for a third party. Ohio outlawed this in March of 2026!!

Front

(blank) loading refers to states choosing early primary dates in order to ensure that their state has more of a say in the primary (not just New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina).

Committee

A chair of a (blank) has little problem raising $$$ because interest groups and corporations know they have plenty of control over legislation.

Coattail

The tendency of a popular, high-profile candidate (usually a presidential nominee) to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election. Ronald Regan (a very popular Republican) had this effect on those running for Congress in his party. Biden had the opposite of this in the 2022 midterms.

Free Speech

In Citizens United v. FEC, the SCOTUS ruled that spending money is protected by the First Amendment’s protection of….

Mandidate

A clear directive of the voters - every politician claims to have one, even if they barely won their election.

Open

A primary in which the voters need not be a declared Democrat or Republican. This may skew the results by allowing non-members to select a party’s nominee.