Terms : Hide Images
| 60920506 | political party | group of citizens who organize to win elections, hold public offices, operate governments and determine public policy | |
| 60920507 | plurality election | winning candidate is the person who receives more votes than anyone else, but less than half the total | |
| 60920508 | single-member district | an electoral district from which one person is chosen by the votes for each elected office | |
| 60920509 | party era | historical period dominated by one political party | |
| 60920510 | critical election | election when significant groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty | |
| 60920511 | party realignment | the majority party is displaced by the minority party, thus ushering in a new party era. For example, in 1932, FDR led the New Deal coalition of blue-collar workers, racial minorities, Southerners, and farm laborers to a sweeping electoral victory | |
| 60920512 | Divided Government | a government in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls Congress | |
| 60920513 | interest group | organization of people whose members share views on specific interests and attempt to influence public policy to their benefit | |
| 60920514 | political action committee(PAC) | committee formed by business, labor, or other interest groups to raise money and make contributions to the campaigns of political candidates whom they support | |
| 60920515 | free riders | people who benefit from an interest group without making any contributions | |
| 60920516 | power elite theory | theory that a small number of very wealthy individuals, powerful corporate interest groups, and large financial institutions dominate key policy areas | |
| 60920517 | pluralist theory | theory that many interest groups compete for power in a large number of policy areas | |
| 60920518 | hyperpluralist theory | theory that government policy is weakened and often contradictory because there are so many competing interest groups | |
| 60920519 | mass media | means of communication such as newspapers, radio, television, and the Interent that can reach large, widely dispersed audiences | |
| 60920520 | linkage institutions | institutions that connect citizens to government | |
| 60920521 | horse-race journalism | tendency of the media to cover campaigns by emphasizing how candidates stand in the polls instead of where they stand on the issues |
