Politics Chapter 11
According to the Texas Election Code, each election precinct must contain between ______.
100 and 5,000 voters
Starting in what era did parties hire pollsters to conduct survey research for their candidates, leaving the candidates beholden to the party for the data?
1930s
In which era was there a shift from party-centered politics to more candidate-centered politics?
1970s
Republicans in Texas experienced setbacks in which of the following elections?
1982
Republicans bounced back in the elections of ______ and set the stage for today's Republican Party.
1986
In what year did Texas become a one-party Republican system, substantially changing Texas party politics?
1994
The Republican Party has controlled the governor's office in Texas without interruption since ______.
1994
After the elections in _____, the Republican Party held all statewide offices and comprised the majority in both the Texas House and Senate.
2002
The Texas Republican Party suffered a big setback in 1990 when Democrat ______ was elected to the governor's office. Multiple choice question.
Ann Richards
Which of the following were outcomes of the 2008 Democratic Party caucuses in Texas?
Clinton won the popular vote in the Texas primary. Obama secured the majority of the state's precinct convention delegates in the caucus.
Which of the following accurately describes the Shivercrats?
Conservative Democrats who stood for office as both Democratic and Republican candidates
Voting for which presidential candidate ended the Texas tradition of straight-ticket balloting for Democrats?
Dwight Eisenhower
The only instance of one-party Republican politics in Texas before the 1990s was during Reconstruction under the governorship of ______.
Edmund J. Davis
Because of the free-market outlook of pro-business conservatives in Texas, they oppose all forms of government spending.
False
The election of John Tower ushered in an era of Republican Party dominance in Texas politics.
False
True or false: Ballot reforms increased the influence of political parties on the voting process.
False
Which of the following have served as governor of Texas?
George W. Bush Rick Perry Greg Abbott
Why did the state vote Republican, in 1928, for presidential candidate Herbert Hoover?
Hoover's opponent was Roman Catholic.
Which of the following best characterizes the party system in Texas today?
It is a one-party state in which the Republicans rule.
For what reasons is it unlikely that the Libertarian Party will ever be an electoral force in Texas politics?
It is difficult for a third party to establish itself in the state. Its platform resembles the platform of the Republican Party.
Which of the following statements about realignment is accurate?
It is the movement of one population category from party to party. It occurs when one party displaces another party as the majority party.
Adoption of the Australian ballot initiated which of the following changes?
It reduced party influence at the local level.
What is the most significant reason that there is less factional infighting in the current Democratic Party than in the 1900s?
Most conservative Democrats left for the Republican Party.
Which of the following is true of party politics in Texas from the end of Reconstruction until the 1960s?
No Republican was elected to statewide office.
Why was Phil Gramm able to easily win the special election for the U.S. House in 1983?
No other candidate could put together a campaign in the short time between his resignation and the election.
Which of the following statements about the success or lack of success of third parties is correct?
No third-party candidate has ever won the U.S. presidency or the Texas governorship.
What party supported the election of Hispanic Americans to office in Texas in the 1970s?
Raza Unida
Phil Gramm was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat, but he soon began to lean toward the Republicans partly through his close relationship to which president?
Reagan
Who is the longest-serving governor in Texas history?
Rick Perry
What did Ted Cruz predict would happen if Texas ever does "turn blue"?
The Republican Party would cease to exist.
Which of the following statements about the political party system in the United States is accurate?
The United States has 50 state party systems.
Which of the following is historically true of political parties in the United States?
They have never been strongly centralized.
Despite his insulting rhetoric about Hispanics and Mexicans, Donald Trump's support increased among those groups in the 2020 election.
True
In the 2020 general election, the Republican Party won every statewide office in Texas that was up for election.
True
True or false: During the time of labor-intensive politics, the parties raised money directly and then distributed it to the different candidates' campaigns.
True
John Tower was the first Republican to hold statewide office in Texas since the 1870s when he was elected in 1961 to the ______.
U.S. Senate
Which Texas electoral faction supported Dwight Eisenhower in both the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections?
Yellow Dog Democrats
What is a "faithless elector"?
a member of the Electoral College who does not vote for their party's designated candidate
What basic elements are usually involved in a party realignment?
a shift in voters' partisan support in elections an enduring change in political landscape
What issue may make liberal Democrats like Wendy Davis especially unattractive to socially conservative Hispanics?
abortion rights
A major reason for disorganization at the 2008 Democratic district and county conventions following the precinct conventions was the ______.
attendance of many first-timers who did not know the rules
Party ideology refers to a party's ______.
basic belief system
In the era of candidate-centered politics, mass communication replaced ______ as the primary way to communicate with voters.
candidate rallies
In ______ politics, prospective officeholders tend to emphasize their own characteristics and backgrounds rather than an association with a major political party.
candidate-centered
In the past 17 presidential elections, Texas voted Democratic only four times. Three of those times it was because the ______.
candidates hailed from Texas or the South
Around the country, party organization at the state and local levels is ______.
controlled by a few active, elite members of the party
In the Texas Republican Party, free-market libertarian Republicans call some pro-business efforts ______, claiming they are inconsistent with true capitalism.
crony capitalism
During the Republic of Texas, political parties ______.
did not exist like they do today
The permanent party organization consists of ______.
elected party officers
Temporary party organizations are held ______.
even numbered years
Voters are assigned to voting precincts based on ______.
geographic proximity
Which of the following did the Progressive movement support?
governmental activism women's suffrage prohibition
By 1988 the Republicans had made significant gains, aided by Bill Clements's election as ______ and George H. W. Bush's election as ______.
governor; president
In March of presidential years, political parties in Texas determine the voters' preferences for president by ______.
holding a presidential preference primary
Which of the following could benefit the Democratic Party's attempt to "turn Texas blue"?
influx of in-migrants from other states demographic realities
Since 1972, conventions have been seen as ______.
kickoffs to the general election campaigns
Which of the following have had a negative influence on the ability of third parties to gain traction in Texas?
perception of third-party failures voter identification with the major parties single-member districts
The political history of Texas could be viewed as a chronological parade of ______.
personalities
What is the lowest level of the permanent party organization?
precinct chair
An example of a temporary party organization is the ______.
precinct convention
A(n) _______________ election is used by major political parties in Texas to nominate candidates for the November general election.
primary
A lasting shift of party loyalty or attachment is known as ______________ .
realignment
Which of the following was not a traditional function of parties during the era of labor-intensive politics?
running huge mass-media campaigns
The Republic of Texas's constitution did not allow presidents to ______, leading to elections that revolved around personalities.
serve consecutive terms
Which of the following are factions of the Texas Republican caucus?
social conservative pro-business conservative libertarian
Over the last several decades, the Republican state party system in Texas can best be characterized as ______.
stable
What is the highest level of the permanent party organization?
state chair
What led to the change in the nature of the national party conventions after 1972?
states adopted binding caucuses and primaries
A(n) _____________ ______________ organization is a series of meetings that occur every two years at the precinct, county, and state levels.
temporary party
With respect to the issues of the day, officeholders in Texas during the Civil War era generally supported the positions taken by ______.
the Confederacy
What party dominated Texas politics for roughly 100 years following Reconstruction?
the Democratic Party
What became the key reform movement after the decline of the Populists?
the Progressive movement
The Texas Election Code decides many aspects of party activity, but especially ______.
the conduct of primary elections
What catalyst did Phil Gramm use to make his conversion from Democrat to Republican?
the loss of his Budget Committee seat
What was the chief cause of the incredibly high turnout in the 2008 precinct conventions for the Democratic Party?
the tight competition between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
What is the chief goal of a political party?
to have its candidates elected to office
The Anglo population of Texas after annexation ______.
was very distrustful of the federal government established Democratic Party dominance