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Incumbent |
a candidate for political office who already holds the political office he or she is campaigning for |
Primary Elections/Primaries |
Preliminary, state by state, contests candidates must win in order to win the nomination of their party in the general election. Congress and the President participate in primaries to get elected. |
Soft Money |
Unlimited amounts of money used to back candidates without backing them by name. Corporations and unions were banned from using soft money by the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. |
Split-Ticket Voting |
voting for one party for one office and another for another |
Political Action Committees (PACS) |
organizations formed by corporations, unions, and trade associations with the purpose of raising funds (money)f or campaigns for political office. First allowed under the 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act |
527 Groups |
A tax exempt organization that promotes a political agenda, although they cannot expressly advocate for or against a specific candidate. |
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 |
act of Congress that limited campaign contributions, but allowed loopholes such as PACs and soft money |
McCain-Feingold Act/Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 |
act in 2002 that further limited campaign contributions and banned soft money. Allowed the loophole of 527 organizations, organizations that cannot back a candidate directly but may spend money backing a certain political agenda, or cause. |
Nomination |
when a party chooses their candidate for the national election |
General Election |
when voters decide which candidate will hold/be elected to the national office |
Closed Primary |
voting is restricted to registered members of a political party. Democrats vote for Democrats and Republicans for Republicans |
Open Primary |
voters may vote in only one party’s , primary but may vote in whichever primary they choose |
Blanket Primary |
voters may vote for one candidate per office of either party (only Alaska and Washington use this system) |
Delegate |
a citizen of a state who goes to the national convention of a political party to help nominate a candidate based on votes received during the state’s primary |
Plurality |
greatest number of votes, but not more than half |
Runoff Primary |
if no candidate receives the required share of votes in a primary, a runoff primary is held |
Super-Delegates |
Democrats grant automoatic delegate status to many elected party leaders who generally vote for the front runner in the convention |
Presidential Elections |
elections in which the President is being determined |
Midterm Elections |
elections that occur in between Presidential Elections |
Federal Matching Funds |
Primary candidates who receive more than 10 percent of the vote in an election may apply for Federal Matching Funds, which essentially double all campaign contributions of $250 and under. |
Super Tuesday |
same day in March when many southern states hold their primaries, candidate can go a long way to winning nomination if he or she does well on this day |
Front-Loading |
states like New York and California have moved their primaries to earlier dates (more to the front) and have thus gained greater influence on the process |
Federal Election Commission |
government agency that monitors and enforces rules on campaign spending |
Electoral College |
institution created to keep the people of the USA from having too much influence on election of President by giving power to electors who cast electoral votes |
Winner-take-all-System |
winner of each states popular election takes all electoral votes in the electoral college |
Mandate |
idea that the public, by voting on one candidate or another overwhelmingly, can send a message about how they feel about the state of the nation |