Deck 5: General Elections

Question 1

What did John Kerry and Mitt Romney have in common during their general election campaigns?

A) They both were accused of flip-flopping.
B) They both declined to participate in a presidential debate.
C) They both refused to use negative advertising.
D) They both relied heavily on Twitter to connect with voters.

Answer 1

They both were accused of flip-flopping.

Question 2

On which subject did Mitt Romney's position change as he engaged in a policy shift in moving from the primaries to the general election?

A) international terrorism
B) same-sex marriage
C) immigration
D) the right to bear arms

Answer 2

immigration

Question 3

During the primary election, Mitt Romney __________.

A) avoided discussion of his Massachusetts healthcare reform laws
B) refused to debate his more conservative opponents
C) rejected a pledge to cut taxes across the board by 20 percent
D) rejected the concept of self-deportation

Answer 3

avoided discussion of his Massachusetts healthcare reform laws

Question 4

Romney's revisionism during the general election is best characterized as __________.

A) unusual
B) rare
C) common
D) unexpected

Question 5

What was Mitt Romney's primary election strategy?

A) to be more moderate than his opponents
B) to be more liberal than his opponents
C) to be more conservative than his opponents
D) to be more partisan than his opponents

Question 6

What must candidates do during the general election that is different from what they do during the primary election?

A) reinvent themselves as political moderates
B) run fewer negative advertisements
C) appeal more directly to the core of the partisan base
D) accentuate their ideological extremism

Question 7

Voters in the general election tend to be more __________ than voters in the primary elections.

A) ideological
B) educated
C) moderate
D) extreme

Question 8

Which statement best illustrates the effects of moving from a primary election to a general election on a candidate's behavior?

A) Mitt Romney's decision not to defend a pledge made earlier to cut taxes by 20 percent
B) Barack Obama softening his stance on Iran when speaking to Israeli lobbyists
C) Mitt Romney's aggressive stance on the issue of immigration
D) Barack Obama's shift from opposing the Iraq War to supporting it

Question 9

Which statement about the move from the primary to the general election is accurate?

A) Candidates who become more ideological after the primary election face far less criticism from the public in the general election than those who become more moderate.
B) Candidates who shift only their tone but not their policy positions after the primary election are more successful in the general election.
C) Candidates who appear extremely liberal or conservative during the general election enjoy considerably more support during the general election than those who are more moderate.
D) Candidates who do not face a primary opponent and the accompanying challenges often enjoy a much more straightforward path to election than those with opponents.

Question 10

Why should President Obama and his advisors not have been surprised by Mitt Romney's changing positions as he began campaigning during the general election?

A) Candidates must court a broader national electorate in a general election, which requires shifts in a candidate's tone, emphasis, and even policy positions.
B) Candidates must rally their party faithful during the general election, which requires shifting positions on key issues to continue to win the support of the party.
C) Candidates recognize that the voters in general elections are much more ideological than those in primaries, so they must shift their policy positions to accommodate this orientation.
D) Candidates are seldom sure of their policy positions during primary elections and often shift and change positions until they establish their views during the general election.

Question 11

Who was a primary opponent of Mitt Romney in the 2012 Republican primary election?

A) Barack Obama
B) David Axlerod
C) Rick Perry
D) John Kerry

Question 12

Barack Obama's tack toward the ideological center during the 2008 general election can be explained by the institutional __________.

A) requirements of the Democratic Party
B) demands of the US electoral system
C) pressures of the news media
D) structure of the executive branch

Question 13

As a candidate for president, in which state should you focus your campaign activities?

A) Montana
B) California
C) Florida
D) Alaska

Question 14

States where Republicans and Democrats enjoy similar levels of support, making the outcomes of election contests there uncertain, are known as __________ states.

A) ideological
B) swing
C) partisan
D) primary

Question 15

An implication of swing states with respect to mass participation in American politics is that many voters __________.

A) feel they have no influence in the outcome
B) increase their efforts to attract the attention of the candidates
C) ignore the effects of media spending in their states
D) become energized by the competitive nature of the election

Question 16

Which of the following best illustrates the effects of swing states on the campaigns for president during the general election?

A) Both Obama and Romney spent more than 99 percent of their television advertising budgets for ads in swing states.
B) Swing states represent approximately 20 percent of the Electoral College vote.
C) Of the states with the largest Electoral College delegations, only California and Texas were regularly visited by presidential candidates in the last three election cycles.
D) Both Obama and Romney spent more than 90 percent of their total advertising budgets on negative ads.

Question 17

The __________ nature of the Electoral College distorts the way that candidates conduct their campaigns for the presidency.

A) extremist
B) ideological
C) partisan
D) winner-take-all

Question 18

Which of the following would be a way to diminish the outsized influence of swing states in American presidential elections?

A) reform the Electoral College
B) increase bipartisanship
C) eliminate primary elections
D) ban negative advertising

Question 19

What is the dominant source of information for the average voter during a general election?

A) television news
B) Internet blogs
C) media advertising
D) campaign speeches

Question 20

The Stand by Your Ad provision of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act required that candidates __________.

A) declare their approval of all ads
B) declare that an ad is negative
C) reveal the total cost of each ad
D) personally appear in all ads

Question 21

The goal of the racially charged print and television ad launched by the Bush campaign against Michael Dukakis in 1988 was to characterize Dukakis as __________.

A) weak on crime
B) soft on communism
C) insensitive to race issues
D) unsupportive of the military

Question 22

__________ advertisements cast opposing candidates in a critical light through a focus on unpopular features of their records, personalities, or histories.

A) Progressive
B) Negative
C) Partisan
D) Biased

Question 23

Which statement best describes Republican and Democratic television advertising from 2004 to 2012?

A) The Republicans were constant in the number of ads that they ran up to Election Day and relied primarily on direct campaign funding to pay for those ads.
B) Both parties reliably increased the number of ads leading up to Election Day and switched from having independent groups fund the ads to direct campaign ad funding.
C) The Democrats decreased the number of ads that they ran up to Election Day because they ran low on campaign funds and had to rely on independent groups to fund their ads.
D) Both parties reliably increased the number of ads leading up to Election Day, but the Republicans relied more heavily on independent groups for funding their ads while the Democrats relied more on direct campaign ad funding.

Question 24

Which statement about the effects of campaign advertising on voter preferences is most accurate?

A) Political advertising has an enormous effect on a voter's perceptions of a candidate.
B) Voters are quick to forget new information conveyed by political advertising.
C) Any new information that counters a voter's existing perception of a candidate is automatically ignored.
D) Voters have relied less and less on advertising as a source of political information.

Question 25

Reforming the Electoral College would have what consequence in US politics?

A) It would diminish the importance of swing states.
B) It would reduce the influence of money in presidential elections.
C) It would democratize the primary elections process.
D) It would reduce the number of negative ads in presidential elections.

Question 26

What is illustrated by the continued prevalence of negative advertising in American elections?

A) The ease of producing negative ads overshadows the potential costs.
B) The costs of running negative ads are of no concern to candidates.
C) The messages of negative advertising are routinely disregarded by voters.
D) The anticipated benefits outweigh any apprehensions about using them.

Question 27

__________ serve as a measure of the public's views of a candidate for political office.

A) Favorability ratings
B) Partisan ratings
C) Negative ratings
D) Independent ratings

Question 28

The trend in Mitt Romney's favorability ratings during the 2012 election suggests that negative advertising __________.

A) had no effect on Romney's favorability ratings
B) was not responsible for Romney's election defeat
C) was directly correlated to Romney's steep decline in favorability
D) was directly linked to Romney's loss in the election

Question 29

The power of radio as a medium to bring new intimacy to American politics was initially harnessed by __________.

A) Richard Nixon
B) Bill Clinton
C) John F. Kennedy
D) Franklin Roosevelt

Question 30

What did Howard Dean's presidential run demonstrate about presidential election campaign strategies?

A) Candidates can be ideological and still win a major party nomination.
B) The Internet can be used as a tool for organizing and fundraising.
C) Television images have a stark effect on voter perceptions of candidates.
D) Candidates can win elections without relying on social media.

Question 31

Most people consider negative advertising a(n) __________ development in American politics.

A) positive
B) necessary
C) odious
D) beneficial

Question 32

Which argument supports negative advertising in American politics?

A) Negative ads help voters distinguish between candidates.
B) Negative advertising discourages political participation.
C) Negative ads focus on personal traits.
D) Negative advertising coarsens the public discourse.

Question 33

The most visible events during a presidential elections are __________.

A) debates
B) policy speeches
C) Internet blogs
D) press conferences

Question 34

Which statement regarding presidential debates is most accurate?

A) They significantly increase the amount of voter knowledge.
B) They have little actual effect on the outcomes of elections.
C) They are largely ignored by the media.
D) They dramatically increase voter turnout in the general election.

Question 35

Which of the following is argued to have earned Ronald Reagan major points during his presidential debate against Walter Mondale in 1984?

A) his rhetoric that wealthy Americans played by a different set of rules
B) his characterization that 47 percent of all Americans paid no taxes
C) his joke that he would not exploit his opponent's youth and inexperience
D) his statement that Eastern Europe was not under the domination of the Soviet Union

Question 36

How does the press characterize presidential debates?

A) as a final opportunity for a languishing candidate to overtake the frontrunner
B) as important discussions over matters of policy
C) as relatively unimportant with respect to the outcome of the election
D) as occurring too early in the election cycle to have any effect on the outcome

Question 37

What is a common characteristic of most of the popular claims regarding to the Kennedy-Nixon debate?

A) a consistent belief that Nixon won
B) a lack of empirical support
C) a lack of influence on how future debates are perceived
D) a clear religious bias against Kennedy

Question 38

In US presidential elections, __________ enjoy considerable advantages.

A) extremists
B) demagogues
C) partisans
D) incumbents

Question 39

Which of the following is one of only four incumbents since 1900 to have lost their bid for reelection?

A) Jimmy Carter
B) Bill Clinton
C) Richard Nixon
D) Ronald Reagan

Question 40

Which of the following would be an example of an October Surprise?

A) a report showing unemployment had decreased to historic lows
B) a news story revealing a late-breaking scandal for the incumbent president
C) a gaffe made by a presidential candidate during the first presidential debate
D) a surge in spending on negative advertising in the last month of the election

Question 41

The basic facts about the state of the world that affect election outcomes are known as __________ factors.

A) structural
B) ideological
C) cultural
D) social

Question 42

If you just lost your job, according to pocketbook voting, for which candidate would you be likely to vote in the upcoming presidential election?

A) Republican
B) incumbent
C) challenger
D) Democrat

Question 43

What distinguishes a sociotropic voter from a pocketbook voter?

A) Sociotropic voters believe in supporting challengers who emphasize the importance of cultural issues in American politics, while pocketbook voters hold incumbents accountable for how the economy has changed as a whole.
B) Sociotropic voters pay attention to how economic changes have affected their immediate individual economic standing, while pocketbook voters are concerned with how a changing economy affects them in the long term.
C) Sociotropic voters focus on the incumbent's response to pressing social issues in American politics, while pocketbook voters are concerned with the overall state of the economy.
D) Sociotropic voters are concerned with how the economy as a whole has changed during an incumbent's terms, while pocketbook voters are concerned only with how the changing economy has affected them personally.

Question 44

With regard to voting patterns, which statement is best supported by the existing empirical data?

A) Voters support challengers over incumbents in primary elections.
B) Voters tend to evaluate candidates based on their individual economic circumstances.
C) Voters gain a great deal of information from political advertising and use it as the primary basis of their vote.
D) Voters tend to judge a presidential candidate on the basis of prevailing economic trends.

Question 45

Which candidate would epitomize what Vavreck calls a "clarifying candidate"?

A) Ronald Reagan
B) Barack Obama
C) Mitt Romney
D) George H. W. Bush

Question 46

As a presidential candidate, you should run an insurgent campaign when __________.

A) you are the challenger and economic conditions are in your favor
B) you are an incumbent facing a primary challenge under poor economic conditions
C) you are challenging an incumbent under whom economic conditions are good
D) you are an incumbent who is moving to the center of the political spectrum after the primary

Question 47

Romney might have been more successful running as an insurgent candidate than as a clarifying candidate because __________.

A) economic conditions greatly favored Obama and his stewardship of the economy
B) most of the 2012 voters were pocketbook voters who responded to Obama's attacks against Romney
C) the economic conditions had declined drastically and Romney missed a key opportunity to criticize Obama's economic management
D) an insurgent campaign would have been better positioned to take advantage of the October Surprise that occurred

Question 48

What aspect of Jimmy Carter's 1976 campaign illustrated its insurgent nature?

A) his focus on his status as a Washington outsider, which would ensure a clean break from the Watergate scandal
B) his promise to end the divisive partisan squabbles that had plagued the previous administration
C) his pledge not to use negative campaign advertising against his opponent
D) his focus on the negative economic policies of the incumbent

Question 49

According to Vavreck, what two features are sought in the issues selected as the focus by an insurgent campaign?

A) They attract the support of ideological extremists, and they minimize public opposition to government intervention in the economy.
B) They attract nearly unanimous support from voters, and they exacerbate a perceived weakness in the opponent.
C) They attract nearly unanimous support from pocketbook voters, and they seek to shine a light on the economic shortcomings of the current administration.
D) They attract strong support from moderate voters, and they stress the character flaws of the incumbent.

Question 50

How does the transition from the primary election to the general election affect the behavior of presidential candidates? Provide examples to illustrate and support your claims.

Question 51

Analyze the trends in campaign advertising during the general election. What do these trends suggest about the campaign strategies deployed by candidates during the general election? Use examples to illustrate your points.

Question 52

Evaluate the emerging consensus that advertising played a critical role in the outcome of the 2012 race. What effects did campaign spending have on the 2012 presidential election? Provide specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

Question 53

In the coverage that ensued after the first televised presidential debate, the perception was that, among television viewers, Kennedy had won. What explains that perception, and how might it be challenged? Provide specific historical details to support your claims.

Question 54

Map out a strategy for a presidential campaign. In doing so, note the different strategies you would need to deploy based on whether the election was a primary or a general election and on whether the candidate was an incumbent or a challenger. Also note how economic conditions would affect the type of campaign you would run.