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