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Definition
- the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
- generally requires momentum, money, and media attention
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| the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign |
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Term
| national party convention |
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Definition
- the supreme power within each of the parties
- meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to write the party's platform
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Definition
- a meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention
- usually organized as a pyramind
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| elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate |
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Term
| McGovern-Fraser Commission |
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Definition
| a commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation |
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| national party leaders who automatically get a delgate slot at the Democratic national party convention |
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| the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention |
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Term
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| a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries which would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year |
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| a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region |
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Term
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Definition
- a political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years
- drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate's strenghth
- best formal statement of a party's beliefs
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Term
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Definition
- a high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate
- involves sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past
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Term
| Federal Election Campaign Act |
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Definition
- a law passed in 1974 for reforming campain finances
- created the Federal Election Commission, provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions
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Term
| Federal Election Commission |
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Definition
- a six member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
- administers and enforces campaign finance laws
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Term
| Presidential Election Campaign Fund |
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Definition
| money from the $3 federal income tax check-off goes into this fund, which is then distributed to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns |
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Term
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Definition
| contributions of up to $250 are matched from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to candidates for the presidential nomination who qualify and agree to meet various conditions, such as limiting their overall spending |
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Term
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Definition
- political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grass-roots level or for generic party advertising
- not subject to contribution limits
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Term
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| independent groups that seek to influence the political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek the election of particular candidates |
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Term
| political action committees |
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Definition
- funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms
- created by a corporation, union, or some other interest group
- expenditures are meticulously monitored by the Federal Election Commission
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Term
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Definition
| the phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions |
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