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| precinct | an election distict of a city or town, often the smallest voting distict |
| dark horse candidate | one who receives unexpected support as a candidate for the nomination of a political convention |
| platform | the formal written statement of the principles and beliefs of a political party |
| keynote address | an opening speech of a national nominating convention that sets the tone of the upcoming campaign |
| incumbant | a person currently holding a political office or position |
| coattail effect | the favorable influence that a popular candidate has on the voters' selection of other candidates in his of her party |
| political action committee | a political arm of an interest group set up to contrubute to political campaigns; often simply called PACs |
| soft money | money not regulated by federal law, used by political parties for general expenses |
| nomination | the process of selecting and naming candidates for office |
| direct primary | a nominating election in which all party members may vote to choose the party's candidate for the general election |
| general election | a regularly scheduled election in which all voters select the winners for each office |
| closed primary | a type of direct primary in which only registered party members may vote |
| Australian ballot | a uniform ballot printed by the government distributed at the polls and able to be marked in secret |
| cross-over vote | a vote in which a member of one party votes in the other party's primary |
| open primary | a type of direct primary in which voters may choose on election day the party primary they want to vote in |
| caucus | a meeting of leaders of a political party to select candidates. In a congressional causus, party leaders and memebers meet to decide party strategies and conduct party business |
