Chapter 11
In order to be a member of the House of Representatives, a person must be ______ years of age.
25
The U.S. Congress is a(n) --- legislature with two chambers, the House and the Senate.
Bicameral
True or false: It is more common for House incumbents than Senate incumbents to face challengers in the form of prominent local politicians.
False
The redrawing of congressional boundaries to benefit a political party is called ______.
Gerrymandering
The difference between amendments that can be offered in the House and Senate to a bill under consideration is that in the
House, amendments must directly relate to a bill's contents.
Elections held in the years between presidential elections are called ______ elections.
Midterm
The partisan divide in Congress has grown in recent years and each party engages in ______, which is when party members band together on legislation and oppose the other party.
Party Unity
Political scientist John Hibbing advises that the "first thing to being reelected is to stay away from ______."
Scandal
The emergence of, groups that can pour money into a political campaign with few limits, has given challengers a better opportunity to unseat congressional incumbents.
Super Pac's
Why are incumbents at risk when elections are being waged in the context of disruptive issues?
Voters are more likely to believe those in power should be removed from office.
Which of the following are true concerning women and minorities who run for congressional office?
Women and minorities are less likely to run for Congress than white males. There are more women than there are minorities in Congress.
In 2012, Senator Richard Lugar, a six-term incumbent, was beaten in the GOP primary by conservative Richard Mourdock, who portrayed Lugar as
a moderate Washington insider.
Which of the following problems is most likely to jeopardize an incumbent's chances of reelection?
getting caught in a scandal
Which of the following makes a challenger to a Senate incumbent more likely to be successful?
having access to large sums of money to fund the campaign having an existing campaign organization having strong public recognition
The House and the Senate each elect ______ to lead their party's efforts in the chamber.
party leaders
Which of the following are common threats to incumbency?
personal misconduct strong challengers disruptive issues
The process of determining how many House seats each state is allowed as a result of population change since the last census is known as ______.
reapportionment
In the 2018 midterm elections, how many House and Senate races received money from super PACs?
several dozen
An open-seat election is one in which
there is no incumbent in the race
______ refers to a practice whereby members of Congress respond to constituents' individual requests for information or help with a federal benefit or service.
Service Strategy
Who helps the Speaker set the party's legislative agenda in the House?
The majority leader
Polls indicate that voters' opinions of Donald Trump's performance had what effect in the 2018 midterms?
Those who were discontented with Trump helped Democrat's retake control of the House.
As a result of the increased level of party polarization in the United States, which candidates face greater risk of losing the primary election?
incumbent moderates