Deck 9: Political Parties

Question 1

Political party planks are ______.

A) another name for the party platform
B) the individual issue positions of the party platform
C) people who carry on the party activities between party conventions
D) risks that parties take during elections
E) geographic subdivisions of the state or local party

Answer 1

B

Question 2

By the year ______, Democrats were unable to effectively challenge Republicans for any statewide office.

A) 1970
B) 1980
C) 1990
D) 2000
E) 2010

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which candidate won the popular vote in the state's Democratic presidential primary but did not win the majority of the 228 delegates Texas sent to the Democratic National Convention?

A) John Kerry
B) Barack Obama
C) Bernie Sanders
D) Hillary Clinton

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which candidate received the plurality of the vote in the 2016 Texas Republican Party primary?

A) Marco Rubio
B) Jeb Bush
C) Ted Cruz
D) Donald Trump

Question 5

Which of the following characteristics does NOT describe the "chronic minority?"

A) a group that rarely wins elections
B) a group that rarely achieves majority status
C) a group that is very motivated for active engagement in politics
D) a group that sees few reasons for active engagement in politics
E) a group that must look outside its area for representation

Question 6

Which of the following functions do the state political parties fulfill?

A) relying on the orders of the national party organization for direction
B) participating in the election of state senators for other states
C) participating in the election of state party chairs for other states
D) selecting the slate of electors who will be available to serve in the Electoral College

Question 7

Which of the following is true about party competition in Texas?

A) Both parties contest state legislative seats.
B) Republicans rarely field candidates today.
C) Success rates in elections for statewide office are relatively equal between Democrats and Republicans.
D) Third parties field candidates in legislative elections and have had regular success.

Question 8

Which two party officers do primary voters elect?

A) city manager and precinct chair
B) precinct chair and county chair
C) county chair and state chair
D) state vice chair and state chair
E) city manager and the county chair

Question 9

Texas's political parties hold their state conventions biennially in ______.

A) November or February
B) September of November
C) March or November
D) May or June

Question 10

At national conventions today, ______.

A) state delegations focus most prominently on representation of local interests
B) the national party is able to force state parties to adopt policy positions
C) the state parties' roles are of increasing strength
D) state parties are assured equal representation
E) the presidential campaign organization tends to dominate

Question 11

Which of the following accurately describes the development of political parties in Texas?

A) Republican Party support has dominated election results for most of the state's history.
B) Democratic Party support has dominated election results for most of the state's history.
C) Political party labels were not used in Texas until prior to the Great Depression.
D) The Populist Party dominated election results until the 1960s.
E) Democrats currently dominate party politics in Texas.

Question 12

The theoretical view that each party should hold firmly to a clear and consistent set of policies refers to the ______.

A) responsible party model
B) electoral competition model
C) organized interests model
D) international interests model
E) conditional party model

Question 13

In 2018, Democrats held how many statewide political offices?

A) one
B) zero
C) two
D) three

Question 14

Which parties may choose to use conventions rather than primary elections to nominate candidates?

A) any party that had a nominee on the ballot in the last gubernatorial election
B) parties that won between 2 percent and 20 percent in the last gubernatorial election
C) the party that won the last presidential election
D) the party that won the last gubernatorial election
E) only Democrats and Republicans

Question 15

Which of the following most accurately describes patronage?

A) party leaders replacing retired elected officials
B) the selection of party delegates to attend conventions
C) the selection of candidates to be party nominees
D) a party drafting its statement of beliefs
E) rewards from elected officials for campaign supporters

Question 16

What would make a runoff primary necessary?

A) a legislative vacancy
B) three or more candidates receiving more than 20 percent of the vote in the primary
C) the Texas Senate rejecting a gubernatorial appointment when the legislative session convenes
D) no candidate in the primary election receiving a majority
E) one candidate winning both the Democratic and Republican primaries

Question 17

Which of the following is part of the local party organization?

A) county chairs
B) the state party chair
C) the state executive committee
D) state convention delegates
E) the state committee vice chair

Question 18

Which of the following best describes a grassroots organization?

A) a group in which decision making is bipartisan in nature
B) an organization that does not discriminate in allowing membership
C) a group in which decision making resides with average citizens
D) a group that makes contributions to candidates of only one party
E) an organization whose operating expenses are tax deductible

Question 19

A temporary party organization ______; a permanent party organization ______.

A) is controlled by Democrats; is controlled by Republicans
B) chooses national nominees; chooses state nominees
C) conducts party business between the primaries and conventions; is the primary and convention gathering itself
D) is where party officials meet; is where ordinary party members meet
E) is where ordinary party members meet; is where party officials meet

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT a function of political parties?

A) to recruit candidates for office
B) to provide logistical support for candidates
C) to mobilize voters
D) to build cohesion between the state party and the directives of the national party
E) to support candidates by providing fundraising and advertising

Question 21

Precinct-level conventions may be held on the same day as ______.

A) the general election
B) primaries
C) national elections
D) national conventions

Question 22

How is the leader of the state executive committee elected?

A) by the precinct convention
B) by the general election
C) by the state convention
D) by the caucus

Question 23

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) allowed ______ to purchase political advertising directly.

A) foreign powers
B) church groups
C) political candidates
D) corporations and unions

Question 24

Leon Epstein provided the definition, used by the authors, of a ______.

A) political party
B) party caucus
C) primary
D) convention

Question 25

Until ______, political parties paid for primaries, relying on hefty candidate filing fees to fund these elections.

A) 1910
B)1950
C) 1981
D) 1972

Question 26

Each issue position of the party platform is referred to as ______.

A) a plank
B) a talking point
C) a tenet
D) a stance

Question 27

Who runs the state executive committee?

A) the comptroller
B) the precinct chair
C) the county chair
D) the state party chair

Question 28

Which party supports marriage equality in the state of Texas?

A) Democratic
B) Republican
C) Baptist
D) Populist

Question 29

A group in which decision-making power lies in the hands of average citizens is called a(n) ______.

A) temporary party organization
B) amateur party organization
C) permanent party organization
D) grassroots organization

Question 30

What is one consequence of weak political parties in Texas?

A) Party platforms are more coherent.
B) Texans are more engaged in politics.
C) Political outsiders often gain statewide office.
D) Political appointees are better trained.

Question 31

What issue would eventually split the Democratic Party in Texas and throughout the South?

A) AIDS
B) the economy
C) civil liberties
D) civil rights

Question 32

The state party chair is the head of the ______.

A) political party
B) national party convention
C) state precinct oversight committee
D) state executive committee

Question 33

What is a modern source of influence that has weakened political parties in Texas?

A) national politics
B) radio
C) social media
D) the Texas Ethics Commission

Question 34

What is one reason that V.O. Key identified as a barrier to strong political parties in Texas?

A) low voter turnout
B) lack of interest in politics
C) lack of financial resources in parties
D) the state's large geographic size

Question 35

The Republican Party platform ______ women in combat.

A) supports
B) endorses
C) promotes
D) opposes

Question 36

Which of the following effects does one-party dominance have on electoral competition?

A) It increases competition between parties.
B) It decreases all competition.
C) It decreases competition within parties.
D) It focuses competition on the party nomination process.

Question 37

In the early twentieth century, if you wanted to exercise political influence you needed to vote primarily in which party's primary?

A) Green
B) Libertarian
C) Republican
D) Democratic

Question 38

Which of the following is an example of a permanent party organization?

A) a caucus
B) a convention
C) officials selected by the temporary party organization
D) officials selected by hybrid party organizations

Question 39

Meetings in caucuses and conventions are an example of ______.

A) permanent party organizations
B) temporary party organizations
C) hybrid party organizations
D) amateur party organizations

Question 40

Precinct and county chairs in Texas are elected for a period of ______ years.

A) three
B) four
C) two
D) six

Question 41

What are some of the functions that parties perform?

Question 42

The Democratic Party has won most elections throughout the history of Texas.

Question 43

The Republican Party platform states that ______ is a political agenda promoted to control every aspect of our lives.

A) birth control
B) climate change
C) gun control
D) a federal minimum wage

Question 44

Texas's "sore loser law" prohibits someone from voting or running in the primary of one party and later running for office under the label of another party in the same year.

Question 45

V.O. Key said that "as institutions, parties enjoy a general ______."

A) disrepute
B) favorability
C) popularity
D) flexibility