AP Gov: Chapter 14

Purposes of a political party

- unites people with shared social, economic, and ideological goals - finds and supports candidates to run for office - educate and mobilize voters - raise money and develop a media strategy to try to get their candidates elected - parties try to keep candidates who win in office - come up with policy platforms that they want their candidates to follow.

Causes of realignment

1. A party is badly defeated and falls into obscurity 2. Large numbers of voters shift their allegiance from one party to another a result of social, political, or economic crisis.

Phases of a campaign

1. Candidates decide to run with the help of party leaders and activists. 2. Parties choose a nominee to represent their party during the election. 3. Parties support their nominees during the election campaign.

The Republicans designate _____ delegates from each state based upon their positions within the state party.

3

What do advocates for open primaries argue?

Advocates say that they help make elections more competitive by taking power away from senior party officials, who serve as gatekeepers, favoring some candidates over others. They also argue that closed primaries incentivize candidates to appeal to the party's extremists, leading to nominees who are too far outside the political mainstream.

Why has there been slips in party identification?

Americans' deep frustration with the inability of the federal government to enact policies

What is a result of candidate-centered campaigns?

An increase in campaigns that are candidate-centered has led to party elites losing some of their power and influence over the nomination process.

What are the main roles of a political party?

As organizations, political parties recruit, nominate, and support candidates for political office. In the electorate, parties provide labels that voters can use as shortcuts in identifying candidates closer to their own political ideologies. In government, a party enacts the policy positions of its members and acts as an opposition to the majority party when it is in the minority.

How did Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump challenge their parties?

Bernie Sanders challenged the Democratic Party's status quo by focusing more on issues of economic inequality and the power of Wall Street and the nation's financial institutions. Donald Trump challenged the Republican status quo by exposing the deep rupture between the party's corporate-backed wealthier donors and its less affluent blue-collar supporters

Bill Clinton presidency

Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to occupy the White House since 1992 because of his forcing his party towards the ideological center and by arguing that the current president, George H.W. Bush, caused an economic recession in 1991-1992.

What contributes to Congressional reelection trends?

Campaign Finance, Nationalization of congressional races, Partisanship in elections

What institutions are involved in the presidential election process?

Candidates Political parties(national, state, and local) State legislatures State boards of elections Special interest groups Media Voters And to a limited extent federal law

what are the carrot and the stick to party scheduling?

Carrot: allocate more delegates to go later. Stick: take away delegates if states jump the line

Who do caucuses usually attract and why?

Causes typically only attract those who are more committed to a candidate, because of its complex rules and time-consuming nature. They tend to draw fewer participants than primaries because of these reasons.

Differences between delegates and electors

Delegates select each major party's presidential candidate; electors select the winner of the EC Delegates are distributed by party; electors required constitutionally. Delegates are accrued during the nomination cycle; electors on General Election Day in November.

What are the risks for each party in awarding delegates?

Democrat: use of the proportional system to award delegates tends to push back the date when a candidate wins enough delegates to secure the nomination. Republican: use of the winner-take-all system tends to speed it up.

What has been the dominating party since the 1980's?

Democratic

What are some of the Democratic Party's problems?

Democratic failures were partly because of the Republicans redistricting ability that made it easier for their members to win. In addition to this, Democrats had difficulty getting their most loyal supporters to show up in midterm elections.

Why are national party organizations struggling? Relate to Citizens United v. FEC

Due to the ability of outside groups to raise and spend large amounts of money on behalf of political causes. Referring to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, corporations can unlimited spend independent of a campaign or candidate.

Why is money necessary for elections?

Expanding voting rights, Party reforms, Communication and Technological Innovation

When are federal elections held?

First Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even numbered years

George H.W. Bush presidency

George W. Bush was picked as a "compassionate conservative" by the Republican party to unite the party. Bush was able to narrowly win the electoral college victory, and barely losing the popular vote. 83% of Evangelical Christians and all southern states voted for Bush.

Why does holding an early primary or caucus matter?

However, holding an early caucus or primary gives a state enormous influence over the nominating process. This influence carries over into attracting candidate and media attention, along with large amounts of money. Candidates will establish momentum from early state wins.

A "broker" or "contested" convention

If no candidate gets the number of delegates required to win, more rounds of voters are held until someone does, which includes much behind-the-scenes courting of delegates to switch their votes.

Jimmy Carter's presidency and southern Democrat restoration

In 1976, Jimmy Carter, a democratic candidate, secured a multitude of southern whites´ votes through emphasizing his religious beliefs and his born-again status. In doing so, he reclaimed southern whites to the Democratic Party that previously supported Nixon.

Significance of 2016 election

In the 2016 election, both parties faced challenges from within when Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump emerged as major forces in their parties. These candidates changed the national political debate because they were both outside the mainstream positions within their parties, and Americans responded to their campaigns

Why do people criticize Ralph Nadar's involvement in the election against Al Gore?

Many people point to Nader's involvement as a third party candidate as a negative aspect to third parties, because it pulled votes away from the party most similar to them and helped the opposing party win. This, in turn, discourages people from voting for third parties.

What is the most popular proposed reform of the electoral college?

National Popular Vote Compact Requires the agreement of enough states so that the total of their electors is equivalent to the majority of the Electoral College.

Which state holds the first primary? Which state holds the first caucus?

New Hampshire Iowa

Are superdelegates pledged to vote for certain candidate?

No

can the national party organization force state and local parties to share its opinions or force them to do something

No; the national party only has advisory power

How are third parties discouraged?

One way the two major parties can discourage third-party candidates is by preventing them participating in televised presidential debates because candidates must be supported by at least 15% of the respondents in 5 national public opinion polls to qualify for the debate. Local officials may set requirements for candidates to collect a certain number of signatures before they can appear on a ballot.

What do parties do to help their candidates win?

Parties hire political consultants to help candidates raise money and to refine their message to specific targeted groups of voters, hire campaign staff, arrange for public appearances, coordinate media strategy, and conduct public opinion polls to help their candidates win.

Challenges for party leaders

Party leaders are challenged through crafting an appealing and consistent message that gets their candidates elected and maintains party cohesion.

What occurs during the national convention?

Party members write, argue over, and agree on a party platform

Advantages and Disadvantages of the winner-take-all system

Proponents argue that this system provides stability by allowing voters to continue to elect members from the same party if they think they are doing well in office. The down side of winner-take-all systems come for people who live in areas where one party dominates. For example, Conservatives who live in districts or states dominated by the Democratic Party don't believe that they have a voice in politics. This can discourage people from participating in politics.

How is the Republican coalition unstable?

Republicans who are socials liberals(who support same-sex marriage and the legalization of recreational marijuana) might clash with social conservatives who oppose those policies.

Ronald Reagan presidency

Ronald Reagan used a message of lower taxes, smaller government, and a strong defense has a way to turn, so-called "Reagan Democrats", who were white working-class voters to switch their allegiance to the Republican Party.

What are the similarities between electors and delegates?

Selected(mostly) via elections Names are not seen on ballot Power is mostly symbolic tied to the votes Expected, if not required, to vote as the plurality of voters prefer.

What events does shifting coalitions provide an explanation for?

Shifting coalitions also explains how Nixon turned the South Republican, how Trump won over blue-collar whites in the Rust Belt during the 2016 election, and why each major party seeks to appeal to the weakest link in the opposing party's coalition.

Linkage institutions in Congressional elections

Special interest groups and parties. - Endorsements - Mobilization - Going public - Financing - Media coverage - Debates

Why do some states choose primaries or caucuses?

States that hold a primary have to have the state government finance it. In this case, the political parties will then have to abide by state laws governing the process involving the date of the primary and who can participate. A caucus gives political parties more flexibility and power over the nomination process.

How does the Democratic Party award delegates?

The Democratic Party awards delegates through a proportional system where delegates are divided based upon total vote share.

Barack Obama presidency

The Democratic Party nominated Barack Obama, who was a community organizer and senator. Republicans were confident that their candidate, Mitt Romney, would win the presidential election of 2012 because of the unemployment rate that was stuck at around 8% and how the president was handling the economy. However, Obama won that election and Democrats kept their majority because they portrayed Romney as a wealthy corporate executive with an inability to understand average Americans.

How does the Republican Party award delegates?

The Republican Party awards delegates either to the winning candidate statewide or by splitting delegates between winners in the state overall and winners in individual congressional districts.

How did the South shift to Republican?

The Republican Party began rapidly growing in the South and the West, and away from the Northeast in the mid-1960s. This shift allowed Nixon to win the presidency in 1968 and 1972, while using a "southern strategy'' that played on the negative reaction of white people to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Nixon also used backlash against hippies and protesters of the Vietnam War to persuade those who supported to support Republican policies.

Linkage institutions

The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

Who makes the details of how things work in terms of the local and federal laws governing the nomination process?

The parties

Winner-take-all system

The winner-take-all system is used in presidential elections, and is when the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes(except for Nebraska and Maine).

What is the risk of an open primary?

They also allow the possibility that some voters will cast their votes to sabotage a candidate from the opposing party if they see the candidate as a threat to their own preferred candidate.

front-load

a decision by a state to push its primary or caucus to a date as early in the election season as possible to gain more influence in the presidential nomination process.

Critical elections

a major national election that signals a change in the balance of power between the two parties.

National convention

a meeting where delegates officially select their party's nominee for the presidency.

third parties

a minor political party in competition with the two major parties.

delegates

a person who acts as the voters´ representative at a convention to select the party's nomination.

Open primaries

a primary election in which all eligible voters may vote, regardless of their party affiliation.

closed primaries

a primary election in which only those who have registered as a member of a political party may vote.

Caucus

a process through which a state´s eligible voters meet to select delegates to represent their preferences in the nomination process.

party platform

a set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to.

two-party system

a system in which two political parties dominate politics, winning almost all elections.

Candidate-centered

a trend in which candidates develop their own strategies and raise money with less influence from the party elite. - Use of big data analysis - Application of political psychology - Campaign finance deregulation & outside money - Professional consultants for branding, image, message - Intensive polling of supporters to test language - Media events and social media influencers

era of divided government

a trend since 1968, in which one party controls one or both houses of Congress and the president is from the opposing party

What does a healthy party do?

acts as a check on the opposing party, through promoting ideas and candidates that differ from the other's positions, leaving voters to choose how they want to be represented.

rank choice voting

an effort to limit partisanship

Primary elections

an election in which a state's voters choose delegates who support a presidential candidate for nomination or an election by a plurality vote to select a party's nominee for a seat in Congress.

Proportional representation system

an election system for a legislature in which citizens vote for parties, rather than individuals, and parties are represented in the legislature according to the percentage of the vote they receive.

Single member plurality system

an election system for choosing members of the legislature where the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes, even if the candidate does not receive a majority of the votes. Even if the candidate does not win more than 50% of the votes, they will still get the votes of the state or the congressional district.

proportional system

an electoral system designed to represent in a legislative body each political group or party in proportion to its actual voting strength in the electorate. Candidates awarded delegates based on proportion of voter above 15% Preferred by Democrats

political parties

an organized group of party leaders, officeholders, and voters who work together to elect candidates to political office.

How do the major parties undermine third parties?

by incorporating the third party's agenda into their platform.

swing states/battleground states

distribution of electors and composition of voting public means only competitive states with large populations matter

blanket primaries

elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties. Voters can then select some Democrats and some Republicans if they like.

party coalitions

groups of voters who support a political party over time.

Party platforms are not _________, meaning that

not binding, meaning that elected officials from the same party will not always agree on the issues.

What occurs at a caucus?

supporters from different campaigns will give speeches about their candidate in an effort to persuade people to join them to increase the size of their support behind the candidate. The participants will then break into based on the candidate they support, or they indicate that they are undecided.

party identification

the degree to which a voter is connected to and influenced by a particular political party.

What is an example of a factor that has impacted why America has a two-party dominant system?

the fact that the United States uses a single-member plurality system.

Nomination

the formal process through which parties choose their candidates for political office.

Who determines the number of delegates? Delegation seats?

the party Delegate seats awarded by allocation rules set by state

Who chooses the chair of the national party?

the president

Recruitment

the process through which political parties identify potential candidates.

Why do some candidates develop their own strategy and raise money independently?

they do not believe party leadership is serving their goals.

party eras

time period when one party wins most national elections.

Why do parties use databases?

to collect information about potential votes and how to target them.

Open primaries encourage __________ to participate in picking a parties nominee

undecided and independent voters

Superdelegate

usually a party leader or activist who is not pledged to a candidate based on the outcome of the state´s primary or caucus. Similar to pre-McGovern Fraser Commission delegates(nominated regardless of the public's preference for presidential candidate) individuals in the party organization and party in the government who are granted the right to vote individual preference at the party nominating convention.

straight ticket voting

voting for all of the candidates on the ballot from one political party.

split-ticket voting

voting for candidates from different parties in the same election.

Who organizes caucuses?

voting precincts within cities and towns at their most basic level.

Realignment

when the groups of people who support a political party shift their allegiance to a different political party Control of the government has shifted between the two parties because of realignment.

What is the conflict that arises between the states and the national party?

A conflict in the nominating process arises between states having the desire to front-load to increase their importance in the nominating process, while the national party has a desire to create an orderly series of primaries and caucuses.

What are the benefits and disadvantages to a quick nomination process>

A quicker nomination season benefits the party by giving them more time to focus on their efforts for the general election. However, a quicker nomination process can result in potentially viable candidates unable to gain traction with voters.