Battleground states

aka swing states. A state in which no candidate has overwhelming support, meaning that any of the major candidates have a reasonable chance of winning the state's electoral college votes

Bellwether states

a political phenomenon that notes that the state of Missouri voted for the winner in every U.S. Presidential election beginning in 1904 except every 52-year intervals (in 1956 and in 2008).

cacus

a meeting held by a political party to choose their party's candidate for president or decide policy

coattails

the alleged tendency of candidates to win more votes in an election because of the presence at the top of the ticket of a better-known candidate, such as the president

convention bump

an increase reflected in presidential preference polls immediately following a party's nominating convention

direct primary

a primary where voters directly select the candidates who will run for office

dual primary

where presidential candidates are selected and a separate slate of delegates is also voted on. New Hampshire uses this type of primary.

favorite son

a politician favored mainly in his or her home state

front loading

The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.

front-runner

the person expected to win an election or nomination

gender gap

A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.

high-tech campaigns

A major characteristic of the modern presidential campaign. The use of paid political ads, 30- and 60- second spots, paid infomercials incorporating charts and graphs, and sophisticated polling techniques have all been used in recent campaigns.

informercials

a television commercial presented in the form of a short documentary

invisible primary

campaigning begins well before any actual declaration of candidacy as candidates try to line up supporters to win caucuses or primaries in key states and to raise money for their nomination effort.

keynote address

speech given at a party convention to set the tone for the convention and the campaign to come

matching funds

funds that will be supplied in an amount matching the funds available from other sources

non preferencial primary

where voters can choose delegates who are not bound to vote for the winning primary candidate

party caucus

a meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by the republicans

party regulators

enrolled party members who are usually active in the organization of a politicalparty and suport party positions and nominated candidates

political action committees

organizations that collect money to distribute to candidates who support the same issues as the contributors

preferencial primary

designed to permit preference

presidential primary

an election in which a party's voters choose some or all delegates to their party's national convention and express a preference among various contenders for their party's candidate

soccer mom

term coined in 1996 presidential election referring to those suburban women, some of whom are single parents, who supported President Clinton because of his articulation of their values

spin doctors

people hired by presidents to interpret reality in a way that makes them look good; presidents do this so the press will report the issues in a light that is favorable to them

superdelegates

National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention.

super tuesday

Day when several states hold their presidential primaries (usually the second Tuesday in March)

thirty-second spots

paid political ads; 30 seconds in duration

ticket splitting

voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices

tracking poll

a poll taken for the candidate on a nearly daily basis as election day approaches

voter turnout

The number of eligible voters who actually vote in an election.