lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
1.
The primary system and the nomination process
Presidential campaigns include primaries and caucuses leading up to party nominating conventions.
While voting in primaries occurs in the privacy of a voting booth, caucus-goers are required to publicly
declare support for the candidate of their choosing at a party meeting. Until 1972, nominations were
driven by caucuses that involved mostly party elites, largely because rank-and-file party members
were barred or discouraged from participating. Party reforms that took effect in 1972, and that have
been adjusted since then, have led to far more primaries than caucuses and more rank-and-file voters
taking part in nomination contests.
Analysts suggest that primary-centric nominations result in more-contentious nominations as
candidates appeal to less active voters than before the 1970s-era rule changes. The public is now
more involved in nominations but is also more often exposed to intraparty conflict, which invites
negative perceptions of the nominees and their ability to win elections and govern.
In 2008, the Democratic race between Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and others was particularly
contentious as no candidate had won enough convention delegates to be nominated until the last
primary in early June.
Examine the cartoon and answer the questions that follow.
Cop
y
ri
g
h
t
M
i
ke
L
u
c
ko
v
i
c
h
/
Ca
rt
oon
i
s
t
G
r
oup
Statement
True or False
Currently, the presidential nomination process includes more caucuses
than primaries.
False
Since 1970s-era reforms, the public has become more involved in the
party nomination process.
False
Party caucuses expose the public to more intraparty conflict than do party
primaries.
True
Presidential primaries allow greater opportunity for rank-and-file party
members to participate than do caucuses.
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
Which of the following statements presents an accurate analysis of the political cartoon?
The political cartoon shows a defiant U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton refusing to concede and vowing to
fight through the court system when the election proved too close to call.
The political cartoon shows U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton conceding an election, even though she
believes herself to be the better candidate.
U.S. Senator Barack Obama is depicted in the political cartoon heartily endorsing fellow candidate
U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton after an amiable nominating process in 2008.
2.
Partisan identification and vote choice
Political parties filter how the public learns about politics. Positive or negative feelings about the
Republican and Democratic Parties often contribute to positive or negative feelings about officeholders
and candidates. It is common for individuals to form opinions about candidates and officeholders if
they know only their party label.
Parties also act as vote guides because voters often select candidates who share their party label.
Individuals claiming no party (independents) tend to vote for candidates from more than one party on
the same ballot more often than do individuals who identify with a party. (This ticket splitting occurs,
for example, when a person votes Republican for one office and Democratic for a different office.) A
person voting for the same party members for Congress and the president is called a straight ticket
voter. The percentage of people who call themselves independents has increased since the 1960s,
though many self-identified independents tend to lean toward one of the two major parties.
Statement
True or False
True
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Prior to the 1970s, party caucuses controlled by party elites dominated the presidential nominating
process. Party reforms instituted in 1972 altered the presidential nominating process to include the use
of more presidential primaries in which rank-and-file party voters were granted more power to
participate. As a consequence of these changes, the public has become involved in the presidential
nominating process while also experiencing greater exposure to intraparty conflict.
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
The geography of ticket splitting also plays a role; over time, there are fewer districts that support one
party for President and elect a member the other party for their representative in Congress. These
“crossover” districts are often seen as targets to “flip” from one party to the other, signaling that the
incumbent may be weakened for the midterm elections.
Examine the tables and use the dropdown menus to complete the paragraph that follows.
Ticket Splitting, 2012 and 2016
Type of District
Democratic President/Republican Representative
Number of
Districts, 2012
17
Number of
Districts, 2016
23
Democratic President/Democratic Representative
184
182
Republican President/Democratic Representative
9
12
Republican/Republican Representative
225
218
Roll Call; Pew Research Center.
According to the table, there were more districts split between parties for president and Congress
in
2016
. In both years, districts that supported the
Democratic
candidate for
president were more likely to support the opposite party for Congress. The increase in split districts
from 2012 to 2016 was smaller for districts supporting the
Republican
for president. Based
on the number of split districts in 2016, it is possible that
Democrats
will have more
opportunities to flip seats during the midterm elections in 2018.
3.
Elections and the media
The public learns about elections through the media more than any other source. The media play three
roles in elections. First, they provide a mechanism for broadcasting candidate- and organization-
developed advertisements. Second, they broadcast campaign events such as election debates. It is
through debates that the public can watch candidates respond to questions posed by the media.
Finally, the media report on campaigns. It is with the news-reporting role that media organizations
enjoy the most control over the substance, emphasis, and tone of any news stories printed or
broadcast. Consequently, it is through the media’s news-reporting role that they experience the
strongest criticism about bias.
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
Candidates challenging incumbents often argue that they are disadvantaged because media coverage
of incumbents running for reelection focuses both on their role as officeholders and as candidates,
which may prompt concerns about fair treatment during election campaigns.
Read the excerpt and answer the questions that follow.
The Final Days of the Media Campaign 2012
November 19, 2012
Obama Enjoys Surge in Positive Coverage the Last Week of the Race; Attention to Romney
Drops
In the final week of the 2012 presidential campaign, Barack Obama enjoyed his most positive run of
news coverage in months. Only during the week of his nomination convention was the treatment in the
press more favorable.
During this final week, from October 29 to November 5, positive stories about Obama (29%)
outnumbered negative ones (19%) by 10 points. A week earlier, negative coverage of Obama had
exceeded positive by 13 points. The final week of the campaign marked only the second time in which
positive stories about Obama outnumbered negative dating back to late August.
For Mitt Romney in the final week, the tone of coverage remained largely unchanged from the previous
two weeks. Negative stories in the press outnumbered positive ones 33% to 16%.
But Romney may have suffered in final days from the press focusing less on him relative to his
opponent. After receiving roughly identical levels of coverage for most of October, in the last week of
campaigning Obama was a significant presence in eight out of 10 stories compared with six in 10 for
Romney—one of the biggest disparities in any week after Labor Day.
(
Source
: “The Final Days of the Media Campaign 2012,” Pew Research Journalism Project, Pew
Research Center’s Journalism Project Staff, last modified November 19, 2012,
www
.
j
ou
r
na
l
i
sm
.
o
r
g
/
2012
/
11
/
19
/
fi
na
l
-
da
y
s
-
med
i
a
-
c
ampa
i
g
n
-
2012
)
Which of the following is accurate regarding the role of the media in elections? Check all that apply.
The media report the news.
Campaign events are broadcast over the media.
The media host and broadcast debates between candidates.
Both candidate- and organization-developed advertisements are broadcast via the media.
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
According to the excerpt, during the final week of the 2012 presidential election,
Barack Obama
received more positive than negative coverage, as well as more overall coverage, evidenced by a
presence in
eight
out of ten campaign stories during that same crucial week before the
election.
4.
Classic campaign advertising
Campaigns began using television advertisements in the early 1950s as television became more
common throughout the country. Different advertisements are designed to garner support for
candidates on different dimensions. Some may be intended to simply raise a candidate’s name
recognition, reminding people that a candidate is on the ballot. Others may highlight a candidate’s
skills, achievements, or policy positions.
Candidates also “go negative,” highlighting damaging positions, actions, or behaviors of their
opponent. Many voters may claim to dislike these advertisements; however, some research has shown
that negative advertisements can be effective in the long run.
Television advertising for political campaigns also came of age in an era when viewers’ choices were
far more limited. With three major networks, candidates could be assured of reaching a large swath of
the voting public with their ad buys. As the number of entertainment options has grown, candidates
have shifted their emphasis in creating ads, often hoping for ads that will find momentum online
through social media sharing and media coverage. Such ads can gain significant attention for a
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
The media fulfill different roles with regard to elections in the United States. First, media organizations
report the news. It is in this capacity that the media may extend the greatest influence, and therefore,
this is the area in which the media receive the greatest charges of bias. The media also broadcast
campaign events, host debates, and sell commercial availability for candidate- and organization-
developed advertisements.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
candidate without the expense of buying TV time. Candidates also make more videos that can be more
narrowly targeted, hoping to reach voters to connect with them in ways that resonate personally.
One of the most controversial presidential campaign ads ever aired is the “Daisy” or “Daisy Girl”
ad
v
e
rt
i
s
emen
t
b
y
t
he
L
y
ndon
B
.
J
ohn
s
on
c
ampa
i
g
n
i
n
1964
.
Watch the video and answer the questions that follow.
Transcript
Democratic National Committee
Indicate whether each of the following statements is true or false.
Statement True False
The girl in the advertisement’s voice changes to a countdown before an
explosion.
The advertisement encourages people to vote a Democratic straight ticket.
The ad mentions Johnson’s opponent, Barry Goldwater, by name.
The ad claims that “we must love each other, or we must die.”
Which of the following best describes the message of this video?
P
r
e
s
i
den
t
J
ohn
s
on
s
uppo
rt
s
i
n
v
e
s
t
men
t
i
n
w
eapon
s
r
e
s
ea
r
c
h
.
No
t
v
o
ti
n
g
f
o
r
P
r
e
s
i
den
t
J
ohn
s
on
w
i
ll
l
ead
t
o
nu
c
l
ea
r
w
a
r
.
Children ought to have the right to vote.
Vo
ti
n
g
f
o
r
P
r
e
s
i
den
t
J
ohn
s
on
w
i
ll
d
ri
v
e
t
he
c
oun
t
r
y
i
n
t
o
nu
c
l
ea
r
w
a
r
.
Points:
1 / 1
Points:
1 / 1
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
5.
The advantages of incumbency
Incumbency reelection rates tend to be high. Once elected, incumbent candidates enjoy certain
advantages for reelection, including name recognition, free mail or franking privileges, support from
colleagues, and party backing. Incumbents also have a public service record on which they can run.
Name recognition is derived from the candidates’ own self-promotion by conducting media interviews,
public events covered by the media, and the use of franking privileges allowing incumbent elected
officials to keep their names and public service records in the public eye.
Political action committees (PACs) are groups formed by business, labor, or interest groups in order to
raise and spend money on political campaigns. PACs give far more money to, and spend far more
money on behalf of, incumbents seeking reelection compared with challengers. These financial
advantages enable incumbents to spend more money on their campaigns and raise their name
recognition. In most cases, political party fundraising efforts tend to be more successful when raising
money to support incumbents rather than challengers.
All of these factors give incumbents advantages over challengers in elections.
The tables below list the top PAC fund recipients during the House and Senate races of 2018 as of June
21, 2018. Examine the tables and answer the questions that follow.
Note
: *Incumbent seeking reelection.
Close Explanation
Explanation:
House Candidates
PAC Receipts
*Brady, Kevin (R-TX08)
$2,355,215
$1,813,505
*Roskam, Peter (R-IL06)
$1,871,050
*Ryan, Paul (R-WI01)
$1,883,323
*Stivers, Steve (R-OH15)
$2,191,166
*Walden, Greg (R-OR02)
$2,333,700
*McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA23)
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
House Candidates
PAC Receipts
*Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD05)
$1,648,017
*Paulsen, Erik (R-MN03)
$1,590,470
*Denham, Jeff (R-CA10)
$1,578,775
*Neal, Richard E. (D-MA01)
$1,549,012
Senate Candidates
*Heller, Dean (R-NV)
PAC Receipts
$3,582,247
*Heitkamp, Heidi (D-ND)
$3,370,660
*Donnelly, Joe (D-IN)
$3,274,126
*Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)
$3,215,845
*Casey, Bob (D-PA)
$3,142,775
*Tester, Jon (D-MT)
$3,053,900
*Brown, Sherrod (D-OH)
$3,013,633
*Barrasso, John (R-WY)
$2,891,431
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
House Candidates
PAC Receipts
*Nelson, Bill (D-FL)
$2,497,748
*Fischer, Deb (R-NE)
$2,479,423
Source: “Top Recipients of PAC Money,” OpenSecrets.org, Center for Responsive Politics, accessed July 6, 2018,
h
tt
p
s
:
//
www
.
ope
n
s
ec
r
e
t
s
.
o
r
g
/
po
liti
c
a
l-
a
c
ti
o
n
-
co
mm
itt
ee
s
-
p
a
c
s
/
t
op
-
r
ec
i
p
i
e
n
t
s
.
D
a
t
a
co
u
r
t
e
s
y
o
f
t
h
e
C
e
n
t
e
r
f
o
r
R
e
s
po
n
s
i
v
e
Politics.
Which of the following are reasons incumbents typically have an advantage over challengers in U.S.
elections? Check all that apply.
PACs are more likely to donate money to incumbents than to challengers.
Political parties focus attention and money on challengers, rarely supporting incumbents.
Challengers are forced to stand by their record of public service and have a harder time winning
elections as a result.
Incumbents generally have greater name recognition than challengers.
6.
Technological advances and the modern political campaign
The use of advanced technologies is one key change shaping modern campaigns. Technology affects
the cost, strategy, and activism surrounding campaigns through its impact on turnout and voter
choice, who runs, who wins, and who loses.
Of greatest influence is the increase in the cost of campaigns. Broadcast and narrowcast advertising
utilizing television, radio, direct mail, and the Internet can make campaigns more expensive and affect
the type of candidate likely to run; greater personal wealth, fundraising success, and party and interest
group support create advantages for candidates seeking positions that now cost more to win. However,
grassroots organizing and small-dollar fundraising from large numbers of people can also help
candidates find success. Campaigns can now arrange remote phone banks, leverage text messaging,
and track voter interactions at a granular level outside of traditional channels to office. This leads to
changes in who chooses to run for office.
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
1:48
Progress: 0%
Duration Time1:48
Loaded: 0%
Voters now expect, or anticipate, that candidates will develop a web and social media presence, which
has arguably helped mobilize young people and minority voting. These tools have also helped change
how campaigns use resources for in-person voter interactions. Candidates must also be aware of—and
in some cases, answer for—their social media presence prior to their candidacy..
Read the excerpt, watch the video, and answer the questions that follow.
With “Dashboard,” Obama Campaign Aims to Bridge
Online and Off
The Obama campaign today launched its much anticipated Dashboard platform, described by National
Field Director Jeremy Bird in a video as “the organizing network of supporters helping to reelect Barack
Obama.” Read The Wall Street Journal for a healthy skeptical take. (No, a website does not a president
make.) But, with that out of the way, we’re freed up to consider what’s meaningful and potentially
powerful about the work they’ve done.
Log into Dashboard, tell it where you live, and it connects you to your “neighborhood team,” the basic
building block of the Obama organizing model famously espoused by Harvard’s Marshall Ganz. From
there, you get your call tools—empowering you to ring up your neighbors and sing to them the virtues
of the Obama health care bill, your event-planning tools, and inspirational content living under the
banner of “Get Fired Up.” There’s information on your assigned team leader and other team members.
And, importantly, there’s a section labeled simply “Numbers.” For a campaign that eats metrics for
breakfast and data for lunch, this is where the action is. It’s a means of tracking all that it is a
volunteer does for a campaign, from calls made to voters registered to team meetings attended.
(Source: Nancy Scola, “With Dashboard, Obama Campaign Aims to Bridge Online and Off,” The
A
t
l
an
ti
c
,
M
a
y
24
,
2012
,
h
tt
p
:
//
www
.
t
hea
t
l
an
ti
c
.
c
om
/
po
l
iti
c
s
/
a
r
c
h
i
v
e
/
2012
/
05
/
w
it
h
-
da
s
hboa
r
d
-
obama
-
c
ampa
i
g
n
-
a
i
m
s
-t
o
-
b
ri
d
g
e
-
on
l
i
ne
-
and
-
o
ff
/
257606
/
)
/
Current Time1:48
Play
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
Transcript
Video supplied by Obama for America
Which of the following show the impact of the use of advanced technology on political
campaigns? Check all that apply.
Candidates’ social media presence is rarely a part of their campaign.
The use of advanced technology has changed candidate strategies.
The changing technologies modern American political campaigns have access to have an impact
on both the type of candidate likely to run as well as the type of candidate likely to win campaigns for
elective office in the United States.
In general, the use of advanced technology makes it harder to vote.
What is the main purpose of Dashboard?
The use of Dashboard provides a virtual reality in which a candidate’s avatar interacts with voters
in a virtual world, thus reducing the costs of running a national political campaign.
Concerned with the growing isolation of the American voter, the Obama reelection campaign
created Dashboard as a way to increase the likelihood that candidates will interact with voters in
person, face to face.
The Obama campaign created Dashboard to connect supporters in an online field office to help
register, sway, and turn out voters on Election Day, in order to help President Obama win reelection.
7.
Campaign finance, PACs, and super PACs
Points:
1 / 1
Fullscreen
00:00
Mute
Captions
Close Explanation
Explanation:
The use of advanced technology in modern-day political campaigns has changed candidate strategies
and who chooses to run for office. In some cases, this leads to self-financed candidates who can take
on the larger costs of campaigns that leverage expensive advertising, for example. In other cases,
candidates who may not have access to traditional campaign resources can take advantage of low-cost
technologies and small-dollar fundraising strategies. The durability of a candidate’s social media
presence can also become an issue in a campaign, as a candidate may have to answer for prior
statements or behavior that surface.
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
Points:
1 / 1
The modern campaign finance era emerged with the 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA),
which was passed in response to poor enforcement of early campaign finance laws. Since FECA’s
passage, federal legislation, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and Federal Election Commission rule-
making have both limited and loosened campaign finance restrictions. In 2002, Congress passed the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), which further reformed FECA.
In January 2010, the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission held that corporations should be granted the same free speech rights guaranteed to
individuals in elections. This decision has led to the creation of super PACs, which can raise unlimited
monies from corporations, individuals, unions, and other organizations. The 2012 presidential election
was the first since the Citizens United case; the result was unprecedented amounts of money being
poured into that election.
Examine the cartoon and answer the questions that follow.
Cop
y
ri
g
h
t
M
a
tt
Wue
rk
e
r
/
Ca
rt
oon
i
s
t
G
r
oup
Which of the following are results of the Citizens United decision? Check all that apply.
Corporations are granted the same free speech rights as individuals in elections.
Unprecedented amounts of money were spent on the 2012 presidential campaign as a
consequence of this decision.
Individuals and corporations are limited as to the amount of money that they may raise in a
given election.
Unlimited monies may be raised by super PACs from corporations, individuals, unions, and other
organizations.
Which of the following statements provides an accurate analysis of the cartoon?
The cartoon portrays how the Citizens United decision has allowed large amounts of money to be
spent with the intent of influencing electoral outcomes.
Close Explanation
Explanation:
As a result of the Citizens United decision, corporations are treated like individuals with free speech
rights in elections. Individuals, corporations, and other groups may raise unlimited amounts of money
to be spent on political campaigns. The 2012 presidential election, the first since the ruling, witnessed
an unprecedented amount of money spent on political campaigns in the United States.
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
Extolling the virtues of freedom of the press as determined by the Citizens United decision, this
cartoon shows how anyone may publish campaign materials claiming to represent candidate views on
issues.
The cartoon defends the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) as a good law that grants greater
free speech rights to individuals, political parties, and corporate America.
8.
Analyzing data and drawing conclusions
Political scientists use data in many forms to analyze political and social phenomena and draw
conclusions. Researchers may use census data, government statistics, public opinion surveys,
historical documents, interviews, and other materials such as news articles to test hypotheses. One of
the classic questions in political science is who turns out to vote in elections. The answer to this
question varies depending on the type of election, as well as how one measures voter turnout.
Presidential election years have different turnout patterns than midterm election years. Some
measures use voting age population, or citizens over the age of 18. Others use voting eligible
population, which excludes people over the age of 18 but ineligible to vote such as prisoners and
felons who have lost the right to vote. Yet others measure voter turnout as a proportion of registered
voters.
Political scientists may use tables, charts, graphs and other statistical tools, as well as written
analyses, to communicate their findings. Income and education are strongly correlated with various
political behaviors. However, interpreting the relationship between income and education depends on
what data researchers use. Researchers can use broad-based data covering an entire population, such
as a census. Researchers can also choose to investigate certain cases or examples, which may yield
more in-depth information, but not necessarily broad conclusions.
One of the classic questions in political science is who turns out to vote in elections. The answer to this
question varies depending on the type of election, as well as how one measures voter turnout.
Presidential election years have different turnout patterns than midterm election years. Some
measures use voting age population, or citizens over the age of 18. Others use voting eligible
population, which excludes people over the age of 18 but ineligible to vote such as prisoners and
felons who have lost the right to vote. Yet others measure voter turnout as a proportion of registered
voters.
Examine the graph and answer the questions that follow.
If a researcher wanted to show the most optimistic view of voter turnout, which measure would the
researcher use?
lOMoARcPSD|255728 27
Percentage of Voting Age Population
Percentage of Registered Voters
Percentage of Voting Eligible Population
Which of the following statements is true? Check all that apply.
The percentage of registered voters who turn out to vote has never gone over 80%.
Voter turnout is consistently higher in presidential election years than in midterm elections.
The lowest level of turnout is percentage of voting age people who voted in midterm elections.
Voter turnout as a percentage of eligible voters is consistently lower than as a percentage of
voting age population.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
If a researcher wanted to show an optimistic view of voter turnout during the time period depicted,
they would probably describe turnout as a percentage of registered voters. This is consistently the
highest level of voter turnout in the data presented.
