nomination
the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
campaign strategy
the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign
national party convention
meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to write the party's platform
caucus
a meeting of all the state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention, usually organized as a pyramid
presidential primaries
election in which voters in a state vote for a candidate
McGovern-Fraser Commission
a commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation
superdelegates
national party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention
frontloading
the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention
national primary
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
regional primaries
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
party platform
a political party's statement of its goals and politics for the next four years, the best formal statement of a party's beliefs
direct mail
a high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate. it 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
Federal Election Campaign Act
a law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. the act created the Federal Election Commission, provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted t
Federal Election Commission
A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. They administer and enforce campaign finance laws.
Presidential Election Campaign Fund
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
matching funds
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
soft money
political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising. Banned by the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002.
527 groups
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.
political action committees
funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create these and register them with the Federal Election Commission, which will meticulously monitor the expenditures
selective perception
the phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions