dem + part key terms

• campaign finance

  all funds raised to promote candidates,

  political parties or policy initiatives and their agendas during an election
• factions


  the groups that make up political parties – ideological

  wings, particular age and occupation groups, citizens concerned about particular issues
• invisible primary 


  the period between when a candidate announces their bid

  for public office and when the actual primaries take place. It is also sometimes called the ‘money primary’
• PACs (political action committee)


  they raise and spend money in order to elect/defeat electoral candidates, with a donation limit of 5,000 per candidate per election
• party system

  the number of parties that have a realistic chance of forming government within a political system.
• policy group 


  A group that attempts to influence a whole policy area,

  e.g. American Israeli PAC (AIPAC)
• professional group 


  A group that represents the economic interests of its members, e.g. American Medical Association (AMA), American Bar Association (ABA).
• single interest group

  a group that advocates policy surrounding a small specific issue e.g. NRA
• soft money


  cash contributed to a political party with no limits placed on the amount that can be received
• hard money

  cash contributed directly to a political candidate, which may come only from an individual or a political action committee
• Super PAC

  raises and spends unlimited money to support/oppose political candidates but without directly donating or coordinating with these candidates (as a result of 2010 Citizens United v FEC)
• religious right

  the movement, which generally gives support to the Republican Party, is an ultraconservative religious response to the sexual revolution and an attempt to translate this into public policy, promoting family values, opposing abortion and the 1973 Roe v Wade judgment, opposing same-sex marriage, civil partnerships and non-discrimination laws.