Term
| Formally, each of the two major parties nominates its candidate for president at the _______________ |
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Definition
| Party’s national convention. It is held every 4 years |
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Term
| In reality, the convention delegates simply ratify the choices that have been made months before the convention, |
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Definition
| by voters in their states’ delegate-selection events |
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Term
| ___________ passed the first presidential primary law in 1901 |
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Definition
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Term
| The use of primaries soon faded... |
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Definition
| Advocates may have lost faith in the effectiveness of primaries; opponents probably worked hard to get rid of them and restore party leaders’ control over nominations |
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Term
| Steps to how a Presidential Candidate is chosen |
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Definition
Step 1: Assess their chances
Step 2: Entering the Race
Step 3: Primaries and Caucuses
Step 4: National Nominating Conventions
Step 5: General Election |
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Term
| Even in many states that held primaries, voters could take party in only a “beauty pageant” to express their preferences about presidential candidates; |
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Definition
| the delegates who went to the national convention and actually chose the candidates were selected elsewhere. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Democratic Party took control of the delegate selection process away from the state parties and gave new life to the movement toward presidential primaries |
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Term
| 1969 Democratic Convention |
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Definition
| The convention nominated the party leaders’ choice, VP Hubert Humphrey, as the Democratic Presidential Candidate, even though he hadn’t run in a single state primary. |
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Term
| McGovern-Fraser Commission |
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Definition
| recommended major changes to increase the influence of insurgent Democrats in the 1972 nominating process. |
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Term
| In trying to comply with the complicated new rules recommended by McGovern-Fraser, |
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Definition
| many states stopped using caucus-convention system and re-instituted primaries |
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Term
| the principle was established that the national party, not the states or the state parties, |
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Definition
| makes the rules for nominating presidential candidates |
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Term
| 20 years after 1968... First they used national party leverage to make the process more open and more representative of women, blacks, and young people. |
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Definition
| Then, the Democrats “fine-tuned” the rules by requiring proportional representation (PR), so that the voter support for candidates was more faithfully represented in delegate counts. |
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Term
| Many state legislatures responded to the new Democratic requirements by changing state election laws to.... |
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Definition
| require primary elections in both parties |
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Term
| Although primaries are more common, |
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Definition
| states can change their method of selection from one presidential election to the next |
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Term
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Definition
| In these meetings, party identifiers are invited to gather in local schools or other public areas, often for an hour or more, to debate which candidates for president will best represent their party and the issues they believe in. |
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Term
| The selection of delegates in the caucus states attracted little media coverage until 1976, |
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Definition
| when Jimmy Carter made himself a serious presidential candidate by campaigning intensively in Iowa and winning an unexpectedly large number of delegates. |
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Term
| _________ caucuses joined the _____________________ primary as the first and most significant delegate-selection events |
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Definition
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Term
| Because the turnout at caucuses is much smaller and consists mainly of party activists, |
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Definition
| winning caucuses requires early and extensive organizing to appeal to these likely caucus-goers. |
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Term
| Media ads are better suited to reach the larger turnout of voters in a ___________ |
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Definition
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Term
| Invisible primary, or money primary |
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Definition
| The proces of early fund-raising and jockeying for media attention and public support has become so important to the eventual result that it has come to be called the invisible primary. |
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Term
| Those regarded as serious candidates near the end of the “invisible primary” must decide how much effort and money to... |
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Definition
| put into each of the early primary and caucus states and which of their issue positions and personal qualities to emphasize. |
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Term
| A candidate who expects to do especially well among independents will need to... |
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Definition
| concentrate resources in states with open primaries, in which independents and other partisans can vote |
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Term
| Democratic party since 1988 |
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Definition
| candidates who win at least 15% of the vote in primaries and caucuses get approximately the same share of the delegates as their received of the popular vote. |
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Term
| The Republicans use some form of a winner-take-all system in most states: |
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Definition
| the candidate who gets the most votes in a state primary or caucus wins all or most of the state’s delegates |
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Term
| Victories early in the nominating process create momentum... |
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Definition
| They attract more media coverage for the candidate and, in turn, more name recognition among voters |
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Term
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Definition
| many states have moved their primaries forward in the election calendar to benefit from the attention attracted by these early contests, as well as the campaign spending that comes with it. |
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Term
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Definition
| refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated. |
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Term
| Hillary Clinton ran a relatively traditional race as the “establishment” candidate for the nomination in 2008... |
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Definition
| Her strategy was based on the assumption that if she started early and established the belief that she was the presumptive nominee, then the contest would be over within a month of the Iowa caucuses |
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Term
| Because caucuses attract much smaller turnouts than primaries do, |
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Definition
| mobilizing a few thousand people in a caucus state can have as much impact as getting several hundred thousand voters to the polls in a primary state. |
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Term
| Iowa is a largely white state. By winning Iowa, Obama showed that he could do well in a state with... |
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Definition
| only a tiny black population and few major cities |
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Term
| In the more traditional Democratic states, with their larger trove of delegates, |
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Definition
| the Obama campaign’s aim was to hold down the size of Clinton’s victories. Proportional Representation in the Democratic Party! |
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Term
| The close primary race between Clinton and Obama brought out big Democratic turnouts, |
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Definition
| which gave the Democrats expanded voter lists to use in the general election campaign. |
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Term
| State and local parties want a nominee who will.. |
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Definition
| bring voters to the polls to support the party’s candidates for state and local ofices |
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Term
| Party leaders also generally prefer early agreement on a presidential candidate |
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Definition
| A hotly contested race carries the risk of increasing conflict within local and state parties, which might weaken them in the general election. |
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Term
| Party leaders have a harder time protecting the party’s interests in a nominating process that is dominated by... |
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Definition
| the candidates and their supporters |
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Term
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Definition
| all Democratic governors and members of Congress, current and former presidents and vice presidents, and all members of the DNC |
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Term
| Superdelegates were meant... |
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Definition
| to be a large, uncommitted bloc now totaling almost 20% of all delegates, with the party’s interests in mind |
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Term
| The presidential candidates in 2008, as in past nominations, owed their selection largely to their own core supporters, |
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Definition
| rather than to the party organization |
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Term
| The move to primaries has greatly increased... |
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Definition
| citizen participation in the process of nominating a president |
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Term
| Primary/caucus turnout tends to be higher in states with a better-educated citizenry and a tradition of two-party competition- |
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Definition
| the same states where there is higher turnout in the general election |
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Term
| Compared with voters in the general election, |
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Definition
| primary voters seem to pay less attention to the campaign and to have less knowledge about the candidates |
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Term
| Primary voters often find only minor issue differences among their party’s candidates and just want to pick the candidates with the best chance... |
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Definition
| of winning the presidency |
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Term
| Earlier caucus-convention system tended to... |
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Definition
| favor mainstream politicians, those who were more acceptable to the party’s leaders, including some candidates who had earned their nomination through party loyalty rather than though their personal appeal or their skills at governing. |
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Term
| Primaries are more likely to give an advantage to candidates who... |
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Definition
| names are well known to the public and those who have the support of issue activists and people with intensely held views. |
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Term
| Compared with the earlier, party-dominated nominating process, |
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Definition
| the current system gives presidential candidates a better chance to demonstrate their public support, raise more campaign money, and test their stamina and ability to cope with pressure. |
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Term
| Main purpose of the convention- |
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Definition
| to select the party’s presidential nominee- has already been accomplished in those primaries and caucuses |
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Term
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Definition
| In 1832, state political leaders wanted to keep Henry Clay from being nominated as VP; they preferred Martin Van Buren. So these leaders pushed for a national convention to make the nominations. Ever since 1856, the 2 major parties have held national conventions every 4 years |
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Term
| In addition to nominating candidates, the convention’s main job is to approve the party’s ________ |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| the party’s statement of party positions on a wide range of issues. The finished platform is then presented to the convention for its approval. |
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Term
| Platforms usually reflect... |
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Definition
| the candidate’s views, or the bargains that the candidate has been willing to make to win support or preserve party harmony. |
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Term
| Many years ago, when a party’s nominee was actually chosen at the national convention, |
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Definition
| several rounds of balloting were usually needed to agree on a nominee. |
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Term
| In recent years, one candidate has won a majority of delegate voters well before the convention starts, |
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Definition
| so only a single round of balloting has been necessary |
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Term
| The day after the Presidential nominee is chosen, |
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Definition
| delegates vote again to select the VP candidate. This is ceremonial because presidential nominees choose their own running mates and conventions ratify their choice. |
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Term
| Presidential nominees announced the VP choice before the convention begins, |
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Definition
| often as a means to gain more voter support |
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Term
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Definition
| a boost in public support after the convention and before the General Election |
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Term
| The ____________ __________ determine how many delegates each state can send to the convention |
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Definition
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Term
| The Republicans allocate delegates more equally among the states, whereas |
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Definition
| the Democrats weigh more heavily the size of the state’s population and its record of support for Democratic candidates. |
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Term
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Definition
| Democratic delegations have had more labor union members and black Americans, and Republican conventions have drawn more Protestants and business entrepreneurs |
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Term
| The Democrats used affirmative action plans after 1968 to... |
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Definition
| increase the presence of women, blacks, and for a brief time, young people. Since 1980, the DNC has required that half of the delegates be women |
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Term
| The great majority of delegates are... |
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Definition
| long-time party activists |
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Term
| Convention delegates are more __________ in their views are more aware of issues than most other voters are |
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Definition
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Term
| The real effect of the reforms has been to... |
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Definition
| link the selection of delegates more closely to candidate preference |
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Term
| Amateur vs. Professional Delegates |
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Definition
Amateurs are more attracted by issues, more insistent on internal party democracy, and less willing to compromise.
Professionals are more likely to have a long-term commitment to the party and to be more willing to compromise on issues in order to win the general election. |
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Term
| Unit-rule (Democrats eliminated this in 1968) |
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Definition
| which a majority of a state delegation could throw all the delegation’s votes to one candidate. Delegates in both parties now come to the conventions already committed to a candidate |
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Term
| For party leaders, _______________ offered a priceless opportunity to reach voters and to launch the presidential campaign with maximum impact. |
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Definition
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Term
| Once the nomination reforms took effect, and the choice of the parties’ presidential candidates was settled before the convention started, |
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Definition
| conventions lost most of their suspense and deliberative character and independence. |
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Term
| Because candidates must mobilize groups of activists and voters in order to win primaries and caucuses and because many of these groups are concerned with particular policies, |
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Definition
| the nomination reforms have made issues all the more important in convention politics. |
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Term
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Definition
| provide an occasion for rediscovering common interests and for celebrating the party’s heros. They motivate state and local party candidates, energize party workers, and launch presidential campaigns. They give new party candidates a few moments in the media spotlight. |
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Term
| The low turnouts in many primaries and caucuses may increase the influence of well-organized groups on the ideological extreme: the right win of the Republican Party and the left wing of the Democrats |
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Definition
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Term
| Among Democratic delegates in 2008, only 21% claimed to be “very satisfied” with the party’s nominating system as a whole. |
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Definition
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