ELECTION SPELLING/VOCABULARY

Battleground states – Those states “up for grabs” by either candidate. They are also known as “swing” or purple states.
Blue collar/white collar – Blue collar workers tend to be factory workers or other hourly wage earners that perform manual labor. White collar workers are generally salaried and work in offices.
Electoral vote – An electoral vote is a vote that helps decide who becomes president in the United States. Each state has a certain number of these votes, and people in each state vote for the president. The candidate who gets the most electoral votes wins the election and becomes president.
Lame duck – An elected official not seeking re-election and sees his or her power diminishing as the attention turns to who will hold the office next. George W. Bush was a lame-duck president after Obama was voted in as the next president.
Lobbyist – Professionals who work to convince legislators and other officials to support their political desires. Lobbyists for universities might try to convince Congress to allocate more money toward universities. Many groups hire lobbyists to move forward their particular agenda.
Mudslinging – Throwing dirt or making really negative remarks about another candidate on the campaign trail.
Political Action Committees (PACS) – Private organizations that collect campaign contributions and give them to specific candidates of their choice. Donations are limited to $5,000 per candidate. Some PACs are: The National Association of Realtors, the Laborers International Union of North America, and the National Auto Dealers Association.
Red/Blue/Purple states – Red = Republican leaning; Blue = Democratic leaning; Purple = States that could go either way.
Soft money – Political contributions to be used for “party building” activities like voter registration drives. They are not supposed to be used to support specific candidates. However, since these contributions are not limited, they are often used as a legal “loophole” for those wanting to make additional contributions.
Sound bites – Catchy phrases candidates use to sum up their positions, attack their opponents, and increase their chances of getting on TV.
Spin – When candidates say things they regret or things happen that make them look bad, they get their campaign aides to “interpret” the event in as positive a manner as possible.
Stump speech – Standard speech candidates give day-after-day on the campaign trail.
Swift-boating – This term came into being during Senator John Kerry’s bid to unseat President Bush in 2004. A group tried to discredit Kerry’s Vietnam War record. (The Navy vessels Kerry served on were called swift boats.) Now candidates whose reputations have been dirtied in some way are said to have been “swift-boated.”
Swing voters – Those who actually think about the candidates and the issues and can be persuaded to vote for either party.
Youth Vote – 18- to 24-year-olds. They don’t usually vote in high numbers.
Acceptance speech – The speech a candidate gives upon acknowledging that he or she has won the election.
Concession statement – The statement/speech the losing candidate gives acknowledging his or her loss to the other candidate.
Dark horse – The candidate about whom little is known that comes from behind to win the election.
Also ran – the loser of the election
Ballot box – where the vote is cast