U.S. Government Ch.

9 Vocabulary
 
1. Nomination: a party’s official endorsement of a candidate for office 
2. Caucus: A meeting of persons belonging to a party to nominate candidates for public
office or to select delegates to a nominating convention 
3. Presidential primaries: a state-level election to determine which candidate the state’s
delegates will support
4. McGovern-Fraser Commission: a committee in the Democratic party that was created
in order to recommend changes to party rules in order to promote more representation of
women and minorities in the delegate selection process
5. Superdelegates: delegates to the Democratic Party’s national convention who get their
seats based on their position within the party structure.
6. Frontloading: the tendency for states to move their primaries and caucuses to an earlier
time in the nomination season in order to gain media attention 
7. National primary: A proposal to hold a nationwide primary held early in the election
year as opposed to the current system of state caucuses and presidential primaries
8. Regional primaries: A proposal to replace the current system of state caucuses and
presidential primaries with a series of primaries held in each geographic region
9. Campaign strategy: the way candidates use scarce resources to achieve the nomination
or win office
10. National party convention: a meeting of delegates from each state to determine the
party’s nominee for president
11. Party platform: the party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years
12. Soft money: political funds raised by political parties outside the regulations and laws of
the Federal Election Campaign Act used for voter registration and the distribution of
campaign money
13. Direct mail: targeted mailings to prospective supporters
14. Federal Election Campaign Act: 1974 legislation designed to regulate campaign
contributions and limit campaign spending
15. Federal Election Commission: an agency that was founded by the United States
Congress to regulate campaign finance legislation in the United States
16. Political action committees: groups formed to contribute political campaign funds to
candidates for office
17. Selective perception: the act of paying attention to only the things that one already
agrees with or has a tendency towards