In the last thirty years, the single most important variable in determining the outcome of elections to the House of Representatives has been: incumbency personal wealth previous political offices held in the district membership in the political party of the President positions on key social issues

The use of direct primaries instead of the convention system to select presidential candidates results in which of the following? A weakening of party control over nominations A reduction in the costs of election campaigns An increase in the number of people involved in the choice of candidates An increase in voter turnout in midterm elections I and III only II and IV only III and IV only I, II, and III only I, II, III, and IV

A primary election in which voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket is called: A. an open primary B. a closed primary C. a blanket primary D. a runoff primary E. a presidential preference primary

Which of the following statements accurately describes the organization of the two major political parties in the United States? Parties have no organization except at the national level. Parties are centrally organized to make a smooth transition from one national campaign to the next Parties are organized much like a large corporation, in that decisions flow from national to state and local levels. Local and state parties have virtually no power in the party system. Separate and largely independent party organizations exist at the national, state, and local levels.

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did which of the following? It created interest groups known as 527s It made it illegal for unions to donate money to campaigns. It banned soft money donations to national parties. It banned candidates from running negative advertisements. It banned third parties from federal funding.

Why is incumbency such a huge advantage in elections? Summarize the three court cases we discussed. What is soft money? Explain the difference between a plurality and majority system. Explain the difference between winner-take-all system and a proportional representation system. What do we mean by single-member electoral districts? Why don’t third parties ever win the presidency?