QUESTION 31
In priming,
the media influence the criteria citizens use to make judgments by the degree of emphasis that issues receive.
news coverage of campaigns helps citizens learn relevant facts about the candidates, including their biographies and issue positions.
the media shape perceptions of how an issue is viewed by focusing on particular aspects of that issue.
news coverage changes citizens’ positions on key issues.
QUESTION 32
What is pack journalism?an attempt by reporters to tell their audience why the candidates are doing what they are doing and thereby reveal the candidates’ underlying strategy
the idea that reporters who travel together, talk to each other, and read each other’s stories converge on similar ideas and themes
a focus on tawdry personal scandals in campaign coverage
an attempt to use charts, graphs, and maps to explain the consequences of the candidates’ policy proposals
QUESTION 33
Reinforcement means
getting more campaign resources to battleground states.
adding computers and staff to campaign headquarters.
encouraging voters who are predisposed to support you to actually do so.
repeating a familiar campaign message.
QUESTION 34
What is party identification?
voting for one party’s presidential candidate in both the primary and the general election
a voter’s temporary preference for one political party based upon economic conditions
a psychological attachment to a political party
a mental tally of each party’s merits and demerits
QUESTION 35
According to surveys, about ________ percent of Americans are very interested in political campaigns.
15
27
44
65
QUESTION 36
Why are presidential campaigns in general elections less likely to affect election outcomes than campaigns at other levels of office?
Voters have already made their mind up about state and local elections but wait until the campaign to learn about presidential candidates.
Congressional candidates are usually better known than presidential candidates.
Congressional candidates begin campaigning well before the November election, whereas presidential candidates only begin after the national conventions.
Presidential candidates are very well known and have been campaigning formonths or more.
QUESTION 37
Which of the following is an example of retrospective voting?
In 2008, Republican voters vote for Barack Obama, the Democratic Party candidate, because they are unhappy with the economic collapse that took place under George W. Bush’s leadership.
A group of voters support Clinton in 2016 because they credit Democrats with bringing greater financial stability to their state.
After a series of devastating tornadoes in the South, people in the affected regions vote against the incumbent party due to the administration’s disaster relief response.
All of these are correct.
QUESTION 38
When the Trump campaign used the immigration issue to court Democratic voters who favored restrictions on immigration, we might say these voters were
persuaded.
targeted.
cross-pressured.
mobilized.
QUESTION 39
How is a voter’s social identity related to the choice of whom to vote for?
Voters tend to vote for the candidate their neighbor supports.
Voters are aligned with political parties because of factors such as class, background, ethnicity, or religion.
Voters who are part of a community group vote for the candidate endorsed by thegroup leader.
Voters are individuals with free choice, and their friends and neighbors have little influence on their vote choice.
QUESTION 40
When a campaign affects the criteria that voters use in choosing a candidate, the process is known as
priming.
reinforcement.
cross-pressure.
sociotropic voting.
QUESTION 41
Voters rely ________ on their assessments of the national economy (sociotropic voting) than on assessments of their own financial situation (pocketbook voting).
more
less
equally
rarely
QUESTION 42
Voting for the candidate whose issue positions most closely correspond to your own is referred to as
directional voting.
median voter theorem.
proximity voting.
None of these are correct.
QUESTION 43
Why do party organizations try to contact voters?
Parties have traditionally done this task and do not want to give it up.
Voter contact programs serve as a key means of fundraising for parties.
Studies have shown that knocking on voters’ doors or calling them increases their likelihood of participating in the election.
Candidates refuse to create their own volunteer organizations to do this task.
QUESTION 44
Political parties serve the needs of politicians for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
politicians with shared interests and policy goals want durable legislative majorities topass legislation.
politicians want a party reputation or “brand” that voters recognize and can use when voting.
politicians need an infrastructure that helps persuade and mobilize voters during an election.
politicians need party leaders to whom they can shift blame when the economy goes bad.
QUESTION 45
Political parties help democratic governments work better by
aggregating the public’s interests.
organizing coalitions.
coordinating elections and the legislative process.
All of these are correct.
QUESTION 46
What benefits do political parties provide to voters?
They increase free choice for voters by ensuring that multiple candidates run for office.
They give money directly to voters as part of their mobilization programs.
They reduce the need for campaign phone calls and television advertisements, which most people do not like.
They provide voters with clear choices and an effective way to identify the candidate whose views accord more with their own.
QUESTION 47
Political parties are a group of people
hired by the candidate in an effort to win an election.
with a common interest who band together in an effort to further that interest.
who vote the same way in a particular election.
with the shared interest of electing public officials under a common label.
QUESTION 48
Imagine that you are a campaign strategist for the Republican Party working with voter files for the state of Ohio. You identify 35 independent voters in the files for one county. It would be safe to assume from this information that
these thirty-five voters do not form part of your base.
there is a chance some of these thirty-five voters identify as independent but vote consistently Republican.
these thirty-five voters are members of the Democratic Party.
these thirty-five voters do not vote with any of the two major parties in any election.
QUESTION 49
Where do party organizations tend to concentrate their resources?
on the most closely contested races
in the districts with the most members of their party
on candidates with the most loyal party voting records in Congress
across all races equally
QUESTION 50
New York state has a closed election primary, only members of a specific party can participate. During the 2016 primary elections some Democratic voters supported Senator Bernie Sanders, while others supported Hillary Clinton. Does V.O. Key Jr.’s term “the party in the electorate” describe these voters?
No, because the term refers to citizens who identify with the same candidate within the party.
Yes, because these voters all identify with the Democratic Party.
Yes, because these voters share the same ideological inclinations.
No, because “party in the electorate” refers to the administration of the party’s institutions.
QUESTION 51
During the 2016 presidential election Donald Trump’s and Bernie Sander’s positions on trade policy were viewed as similar, but Trump emphasized the role of the Democratic Party in trade policy, whereas Sanders focused on class divisions. This is an example of how
Republicans explain division between the parties as a split in partisan coalitions intrade policy.
Democrats align to the left on public policy.
Republicans explain party competition as an ideological battle between the left and right, whereas Democrats view the division as group competition between the richand the vulnerable.
Democrats explain divisions between the parties as a group competition between the left and right.
QUESTION 52
The partisan complexion of a state or district
has little impact on the results of an election.
is very important in elections, but not as important as a candidate’s resume.
is very important in elections, but in the end, it has little impact on the ability of candidates to recruit volunteers to help their campaign.
is the central feature of the reality that confronts candidates for office.
