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| A person who is currently in office. |
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| Tendency of lesser-known or weaker candidates to profit in an election by the presence on the ballot of a more popular candidate |
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| Political Action Committee (PAC) |
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| Committee set up by and representing a corporation, labor union, or special interest group that raises and spends campaign contributions on behalf of one or more of the candidates or causes |
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| Drawing the boundaries of political districts so that the districts are very unequal in population |
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| Drawing the boundaries of political districts in bizarre or unusual shapes to make it easy for the candidates of parties in power to win elections in those districts |
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| An increase in the votes that a congressional candidate receives in their first bid for reelection |
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| An issue dividing the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policy positions to attract voters |
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| An issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree they associate each party or candidate with goals or conditions that the electorate usually agrees/ disagrees on |
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| An election used to fill an elective office |
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| An election prior to the general election in which voters select the candidates that will run on each party's ticket (a "presidential primary" before the presidential election) |
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| A primary election limited to registered party members only. Prevents members from other parties from crossing over to influence the ticket |
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| Primary election that allows voters to choose the primary in which they vote (ex. Democratic Primary or Republican) |
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| Primary election that permits all voters, regardless of party affiliation, to vote on candidates. You can thus vote in both Democratic and Republican primaries. |
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| The second primary election held in some states when no candidate receives the majority of votes in the first primary |
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| Primary held to select delegates to the presidential nominating conventions for the major parties |
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| Spending by political action committees on political matters that is done directly and not by giving money to candidates or a party |
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| Funds solicited from individuals, corporations, and unions that are spent on party activities (registration and voting drives, etc.) rather than on the behalf of a specific candidate. |
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| Voting for a candidate because one favors his or her ideas for addressing issues after the election (forward looking) |
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| Voting for or against a candidate or party in office because one likes or dislikes how things have gone in the recent past (looking back) |
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