Exam 5: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Campaigns

In Buckley v. Valeo , the U.S. Supreme Court put limits on the amount of money candidates could spend on political campaigns.

In 2011, the percent of voters who identified themselves as members of one of the two major parties was about 60 percent.

In comparison to campaigns for national offices, political campaigns in the states are usually unsophisticated and less costly.

Political spending in campaigns should be unrestricted, because money is an inessential part of campaigns.

The costs of political campaigns in state elections continue to rise significantly, largely due to U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the expanded use of electronic campaign tactics.

When a voter casts ballots for a Democratic governor and a Republican state legislator in the same general election, they are engaged in

Interest groups do not allow people to express what they want to the government.

Political action committees grew out of

National political parties are very decentralized organizations.

Divided government in the states refers to one party controlling the governor's office and the other party controlling the legislature.

Southern states have remained single-party Democratic states.

States with higher levels of electoral competition tend to

State political parties have undergone a transformation during the past thirty years and they have proven themselves quite adaptable.

Voters display a remarkable penchant for ticket splitting-that is, voting for a Democrat for one office and a Republican for another in the same election.

The level of negative campaigning in the states has decreased due to the enactment of laws by many state legislatures.

The explosion of interest groups in state capitals is primarily caused by

About what proportion of the states have adopted some sort of public funding of some campaigns?

The condition of contemporary American political parties has been described as decline, decay, and demise, but a more accurate description may be that parties are enjoying a period of revitalization and rejuvenation.

Ideologically, Republicans tend to be more conservative, favoring a limited role for government; Democrats tend to be more liberal, preferring a more activist government.

Unregulated funds contributed to national political parties and nonparty political groups is called