APG&P

Unit II
Ch. 8 Elections & Campaigns
Reading Questions
1.

2.
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6.
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8.
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10.

11.
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14.
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18.
19.

The book discusses some of the differences between politics in earlier years and today. Make a
list of those differences. Include the conclusions about the effect of ads in campaigns and the
use of polls today.
How do elections here and in other countries differ?
List the ways in which presidential and congressional campaigns differ.
What are the key elements to an election campaign? What strategic decisions must a candidate
make?
What is involved in getting elected to Congress? Define malapportionment and gerrymandering
using your own words. Well be talking about this more when we discuss Congress, but you
should be sure you understand these terms.
Why do incumbents have an advantage in elections?
How is running in a caucus or a primary different from running in the general election?
After reading Stormy Weather on p. 489 in the Readings book, summarize why the NH primary
is so influential and what is crucial to success in the state.
After reading My Vote Means Nothing, summarize Greenbergs arguments as to how the
primary system has impacted elections.
Be sure that you understand this difference between a position and a valence issue. The
vocabulary isnt as important to know as the concept. Then, give a couple of examples from
contemporary politics of position and valence issues.
What are the differences among open, closed, and blanket primaries?
What has been the effect of TV on campaigns? List as many effects as you can.
What was in the Federal Election Campaign Act that was passed after Watergate? What were
the consequences of that law? Be sure you understand independent expenditures and soft
money.
What changes did the the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) make in how
campaigns could be financed?
What were the consequences of BCRA? Make sure you understand what 527s are and the role
that they play in elections.
Study the purple box on p. 256. You need to know Buckley, McConnell, and Citizens United.
Well talk more about these in class.
What does the book say are the three factors that determine peacetime presidential elections?
Which group normally decides elections? How do the economy and character affect elections?
What other factors play a role?
What factors does the book list that people think have an impact on elections, but really dont?
What does the book say about the effect of money in presidential elections vs. congressional
elections? Explain the connection between elections and incumbency.

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What are the three reasons that the book gives for why party identification doesnt determine
who wins elections?
What are the differences between retrospective and prospective voting and what effect does
such voting have on elections?
How can campaigns make a difference in elections?
Make sure that you still know which demographic groups make up the coalitions for both parties
and which of those groups are the most loyal to their respective parties.
Make sure that you still know what a party realignment is and how the elections of 1896 and
1932 qualify as alignments.
Why do elections have so little impact on public policy?
After reading Why Obama is Better at Getting Out the Vote and The Creepiness Factor make
a list of the techniques that the Obama campaign used to increase its voter turnout and how
modern campaigns gather data on voters.
Make a list of all the advantages that incumbents have in elections.
Think back to all youve learned about elections and make a list of everything you can think of for
how new media have changed elections TV, radio, internet, social media, cell phones.

Terms to Know
1.

coattails

11.

Open, closed, and blanket

primaries

21.

front-loading

2.

PAC or political action

committee

12.

Franking privilege

22.

Winner-take-all
primaries

3.

federal matching funds

13.

clothespin vote

23.

Open and closed

conventions

4.

caucus (esp. Iowa

caucus)

14.

position and valence issues

24.

Bush v. Gore (2000)

5.

primary

15.

Federal Election Campaign Act

(1974)

25.

Opposition Research

6.

General election

16.

Federal Election Commission

(FEC)

26.

7.

Malapportionment

17.

McConnell v. FEC (2003)

27.

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

8.

Reapportionment

18.

Hard and soft money

Super PACs, 527s and

503(c)(4)s
28.
Citizens United v.
FEC(2010)

9.

gerrymandering

10. Sophomore surge

19.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

(2002)

29.

20.

prospective and retrospective

voting

30.

Single-member districts

incumbent

Themes and Questions

Amendments that deal with voting
1974 Federal Election Campaign Act impact
o FEC what it does
o Buckley v. Valeo
o Public funding of presidential campaigns
Soft vs. hard money
Raising money; invisible primary, Great Mentioner
2002 Bipartisan Finance Reform Act
o McConnell v. FEC
o Citizens United v. FEC
Effects of each reform
Growth of independent groups PACs, 527s, Super PACs, 503(c)(4)s
How campaigns have changed in the past 50 years, effects of primaries (since 60s)
Focus on candidate-centered campaigns: role of media
Types of elections: primary and general
Types of primaries: closed, open, blanket
o Effect of front-loading of primaries
o Crossover voting
o Iowa caucuses and NH primary
Role of the media in elections; role of new media/internet
GOP: winner-take-all primaries. Democrats: proportional rep in primaries, plurality elections results of
those differences, e.g. 2008 election
Coattail effect declining
Differences in presidential and congressional elections
Who votes in primaries vs. general election?
What has been the effect of having primaries and caucuses determine the nominee vs. a convention?
What are the effects of frontloading in the nomination process?
Open convention vs. closed convention: how conventions have changed the role of conventions today
o Party platforms
What goes into running a campaign?
Impact of campaign on voters: what determines how people vote? Effect of advertising?
Advantages that incumbents have; Why House incumbents have higher reelection rates than Senate
incumbents
Electoral laws, How the electoral system can help and present obstacles to racial minorities
How have election reforms weakened the political parties?
Retrospective and prospective voting