Ch. 8 Political Parties

On average, how much money must a U.S. senator raise every week of his or her six-year term in order to acquire enough to launch a competitive bid for reelection?

$20,000

The election of ________ was a realigning election.

1932

Television first became a major medium for campaign ads during the

1960s.

Ticket splitting was MOST prominent during which decade?

1970s

Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860 with ________ percent of the popular vote.

40

It is relatively rare for a party nominee to get less than ________ percent of the partisan vote in a presidential or a congressional race.

80

Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign?

All these answers are correct. campaign consultants, fundraising specialists, media consultants, pollsters

During the twentieth century, American parties lost their exclusive control over

All these answers are correct. financing, nominations, the staffing of government jobs, platforms.

________ lost the 1964 presidential election in a landslide because his views were seen as too extreme.

Barry Goldwater

A candidate for which minor party in 1912 managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?

Bull Moose

The Democratic Party's long-time regional stronghold, "the Solid South," stemmed from a realignment during which historical period?

Civil War era

________ warned Americans of the "baneful effects" of factions (political parties) in his 1797 farewell address.

George Washington

Political parties in the United States originated partly as a political feud between

Hamilton and Jefferson.

Which demographic is key to the future of both parties?

Hispanic voters

In the recent elections, which voting demographic has become a more cohesive voting bloc and has sided heavily with the Democratic Party, seeing it as more closely aligned with their interests?

Hispanics

________, a Populist, won electoral votes in six states in the presidential election of 1892.

James B. Weaver

________ is associated with the Era of Good Feeling.

James Monroe

Which of the following is an accurate representation of the public's opinion about leaders and their accountability?

Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole but say they have confidence in their local representative in Congress.

All of the following use top-two primaries EXCEPT

New York

What was especially unique about the "Era of Good Feeling"?

President Monroe ran unopposed in 1820.

________ representation systems are those in which seats in the legislature are allocated according to each political party's share of the popular vote.

Proportional

The issue of slavery gave birth to the ________ Party as a major political party.

Republican

What party has made big gains in recent decades among white fundamentalist Christians, based on its positions on topics like abortion and school prayer?

Republican

________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party.

Retrospective voting

In 1992, ________ won 19 percent of the popular vote in the presidential election.

Ross Perot

The main battleground for votes is

TV

The most recent party realignment had a realigning election in

The most recent party realignment had no single realigning election.

________ does not have a competitive multiparty system.

USA

James Carville and Roger Ailes are both examples of

campaign strategists who have earned legendary reputations.

Prospective voting is characterized by

choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.

Organizationally, the U.S. major parties are

decentralized and fragmented.

In twentieth-century American history, the most important minor parties were ________ parties.

factional

Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the

formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.

Which of the following groups is NOT typically a part of the Democratic coalition?

fundamentalist Christians

National party organizations can dictate the day-to-day decisions of

neither local nor state party organizations.

If a minor party gains a large following, it is almost certain that

one or both major parties will absorb its issues, and the minor party will lose support.

The winner-take-all system is also known as the ________ system.

plurality

The history of democratic government is virtually synonymous with the history of

political parties.

Which of the following was NOT part of the 2016 Democratic Party platform?

privatizing social security

At the state level the central committees

provide only general policy guidance for the state organizations.

A(n) ________ party is a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy.

reform

The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between

small farmers and states' rights advocates, and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests.

Regarding state party organizations, the day-to-day operation is usually the responsibility of the

state chairperson.

Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?

straight-ticket voting

The MOST obvious sign of the party realignment of recent decades has been the strong tendency of

the South to vote Republican.

Which of the following represents the greatest blow to the organizational strength of U.S. parties?

the direct primary

The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is

the existence of single-member election districts.

Democrats and Republicans have endured as the two major U.S. parties primarily due to

their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling parties to

win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections.

Hillary Clinton was the first ________ ever chosen as the presidential nominee of a major party.

woman