| A | B |
|---|
| Blanket primary | A primary in which voters can vote for the Dem. candidates, the Rep. candidates, or some from each party |
| Closed primary | Primary in which voters must first declare to which party they belong |
| Coattails | Tendency of down-ballot candidates to profit from the presence on the ticket of a stronger candidate |
| Critical or realigning period | Time during which a sharp, lasting shift occurs int he popular coalition supporting 1 or both parties |
| Direct mail | Means of soliciting funds from millions of people |
| General election | Election used to fill an elective office |
| Incumbent | Person currently in office |
| Office-bloc ballot | Ballot listing all candidates for a given office under the name of that office |
| Open primary | Primary in which voters can vote for the candidates of either the Democratic or the Republican party |
| Party-column ballot | Ballot listing all candidates of a given party together under the name of that party |
| PAC | Group legally able to solicit campaign contributions from people within an organization and to funnel these to candidates for office (with some restrictions) |
| Position issue | Issue dviding the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policy positions to attract voters |
| Primary election | Electio intended to select a party's candidates for elective office |
| Prospective voting | Voting for a candidate b/c one favors his ideas for addressing issues after the election |
| Retrospective voting | Voting for the candidate or party in office b/c one likes or dislikes how things have goine in the past |
| Runoff primary | Primary in which, to be successful, the candidate must receive a majority of all votes cast in that race |
| Split ticket voting | Practice of voting for one major party's candidates in state or local elections and the other's at the national level |
| Spots | Short TV ads used to promote a candidate for government office |
| Straight ticket voting | Voting for candidates who are all of the same party |
| Talking Heads | Televised pictures showing nothing more than individuals speaking |
| Valence issue | Issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree to which they associate each party with goals that voters universally support or oppose |
| Visual | Filmed episode showing a candidate doing something newsworthy |
