Chapter 10 Questions PDF - Elections and Campaigns

Chapter 10 1.​ What are the two phases of elections? -​ Getting nominated -​ Getting elected 2.​ List four differences, cited by the text, between presidential and congressional campaigns. -​ Presidential races are more competitive than those for the house of Representative...

Chapter 10 1.​ What are the two phases of elections? -​ Getting nominated -​ Getting elected 2.​ List four differences, cited by the text, between presidential and congressional campaigns. -​ Presidential races are more competitive than those for the house of Representative -​ A much smaller portion of people vote in congressional races during off years (that is, when there is no presidential contest) then vote for president -​ Members of Congress can do things for their constituents that a president cannot. They take credit – sometimes deserved, sometimes not – for every grant, contract, bridge, canal, and Highway that the federal government provides the district or state. -​ A candidate for Congress can deny that he or she is responsible for the “the mess in Washington“ even when the candidate is an incumbent 3.​ How can a presidential candidate become eligible for federal money grants in the primary campaign? -​ to be eligible for federal matching grants to pay for your primary campaign, you must first raise at least $5000 an individual contributions of $250 or less, and each of 20 states 4.​ What percentage of House incumbents have been reelected since 1962? -​ Since 1962, 90% of the house incumbent who sought reelection won it 5.​ Define malapportionment. -​ Drawing the boundaries of legislative district so that they are unequal in population 6.​ List the four problems to solve in deciding who gets represented in the House and list which ones are decided by Congress and which are decided by the states. -​ Establishing the total size of the house (congress) -​ Allocating seats in the house among the states(congress) -​ Determining the size of congressional districts within states (states) -​ Determining the shape of those districts (states) 7.​ What is the difference between a legislator as a delegate or a trustee? -​ delegates tend to value this over every other consideration, and so seek out committee assignments and projects that will produce benefits for their districts. -​ Trustees will seek out committee assignments that give them a chance to address large questions, such as for an affairs, that may have no implications at all for their districts 8.​ Explain the ideological shift of a candidate in the nomination phase compared to the election phase. -​ To get activist support for the nomination, candidates move to the ideological extremes; two in the general election, they try to move back to the ideological center 9.​ What is the difference between position and valence issues? -​ Position issues are issues about which the public is divided in rival candidates or political parties, adopt different policy positions -​ Valence issues are issues about which the public is united and rival candidates or political parties adopt similar positions in hopes that each will be thought to best represent those widely sure beliefs 10.​What is the difference between a spot and a visual? -​ Much has been written about the preparation of spot, usually under title, such as the selling of the president or packaging the candidate (and mostly by advertising executives, who are not especially known for underestimating their own influence) furthermore, both sides will use TV spots; if well done, they are likely to cancel each other out. -​ Visuals are a vital part of any major campaign effort because unlike spots they cost the campaign little and as news they may have greater credibility with the viewer. A visual is a brief filmed episode, showing the candidate doing something that the reporter thinks is newsworthy. Simply making a speech, unless the speech contains important, new facts or charges, is often thought by TV editors to be uninteresting: television viewers are not attracted by pictures of Talking Heads, and in the highly competitive world of TV audience reactions are all important determinants of what gets on the air. 11.​In comparing presidential and congressional campaigns, which can qualify for public funding? -​ Presidential candidates get part of their money from private donors and part from the federal government; congressional candidates get all of their money from private sources. 12.​Based off of the 1973 campaign finance law, define independent expenditures and soft money. -​ Independent expenditures are spending by political action, committees, corporations, or labor unions that is done to help a party or candidate, but it’s done independently of them -​ Soft money is fun obtained by political parties that are spent on party activities, such as get out the vote drives, but not on behalf of specific candidates 13.​What were the three finance law changes by the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002? -​ It banned soft money contributions to national political parties from corporations and unions  -​ The limit on individual contributions was raised from $1000 per candidate per election to $2000 -​ Independent expenditures by corporations, labor, unions, trade, associations, and nonprofit organizations are sharply restricted 14.​What are 527 organizations? -​ These groups named after a provision of the internal revenue code, are designed to permit the kind of soft money expenditures once made by political parties 15.​What are some incumbent advantages in congressional races? -​ High spending incumbents do better than low spending ones -​ Incumbents find it easier to raise money than do challengers 16.​According to many political scholars, what is the principal determinant in how people vote? -​ many scholars have argued that party identification is the principal determinant of how people vote 17.​Describe prospective voting and retrospective voting. -​ Prospective voting is voting for a candidate because your favorite his or her ideas for hand -​ Retrospective voting is voting for a candidate because he like has a her past actions in office 18.​List three things, according to the text, that show campaigns can make a difference. -​ They re-awakened the partisan loyalties of voters. Right after a parties nominating convention, selecting a presidential candidate, that person standing with voters of both parties goes way up in the polls. -​ Campaigns give voters a chance to watch how the candidate attend blood pressure, and they give candidates a chance to apply that pressure -​ Campaigns allow voters an opportunity to judge the character and core values of the candidates