Chapter 3: Going for It: Recruitment and Candidacy

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is an example of a formal element of candidate recruitment?

A. residency requirements in the Constitution

B. personal ambition

C. public opinion shifting to favor legalizing same-sex marriage

D. personal wealth that can be used to pay for campaign expenses

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Formal Rules of the Game

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. How old does an individual have to be to run for the House and the Senate?

A. 25 in the House, 25 in the Senate

B. 25 in the House, 30 in the Senate

C. 30 in the House, 25 in the Senate

D. 30 in the House, 30 in the Senate

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Formal Rules of the Game

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Which of the following groups tends to be overcounted in the Census?

A. homeless individuals

B. children

C. college students

D. immigrants

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Census Politics

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Which of the following is the basis of US House seat apportionment?

A. the number of citizens living in each state

B. the number of voting-age adults in each state

C. the number of people who actively vote in each state

D. the number of people living in each state, legally or illegally

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Census Politics

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Which of these is an example of gerrymandering?

A. Districts are drawn to cover the same amount of geographic area, even if this means that population varies between districts.

B. A state designs districts to ensure that new candidates and incumbents have an equal chance at winning the election.

C. A district is drawn to be 95 percent Republican so that neighboring districts are more difficult for the Republican Party to win.

D. A Republican-leaning urban area is split up into multiple districts and combined with suburban areas that are majority Republican.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Gerrymandering

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Which of the following groups tends to be undercounted in the Census?

A. teachers

B. renters

C. homeowners

D. millionaires

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Census Politics

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Which of the following is an example of “unintentional gerrymandering?”

A. Independent commissions prioritize compact districts.

B. Democrats tend to be packed into dense urban areas because of residential and geographic patterns.

C. Republicans are able to create safe districts through partisan gerrymandering when winning a majority of state-level offices.

D. The Senate contains many safe seats because of the way the Census is conducted.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Pro-Incumbent Gerrymandering

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Which of the following rules has the Supreme Court applied to majority–minority districts?

A. States may not create majority-minority districts.

B. Majority-minority districts may not impact partisan outcomes.

C. Districts must be reasonably compact.

D. Districting must use race as a predominant factor.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Majority-Minority Districts

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Which of the following individuals would be considered an amateur in a US House race?

A. a sitting state legislator

B. the mayor of a large city

C. a district attorney

D. a well-known TV host who covers politics

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Amateurs

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Which of the following is a component of candidate quality?

A. an open seat (i.e., no incumbent)

B. fund-raising ability

C. invisibility

D. lack of a brand name

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Finding Quality Candidates

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Which of the following situations is an example of strategic retirement?

A. A member of the House retires in order to run for president.

B. A member of the House retires after a damaging scandal is revealed.

C. A Senator retires because of term limits.

D. A Supreme Court justice retires because of health problems.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Incumbency Factor

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. The primary, created in California, in which Democratic and Republican candidates are listed on the primary ballot with the top two vote-getters moving on to the general election is referred to as a ______.

A. open primary

B. jungle primary

C. closed primary

D. blanket primary

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Rules of the Nominating Game

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Women are less likely than men to win races they enter.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Female Candidates

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The Supreme Court’s decisions on majority-minority districts have laid down clear and consistent rules and standards for states to follow.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Supreme Court Enters the Quagmire

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Most minority members of the House of Representatives are elected from majority-minority districts.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consequences of Majority-Minority Districts

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Open seats tend to be the most competitive and thus are often the target of party strategists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Finding Quality Candidates

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Majority-minority districts are created to enhance the probability of minorities being elected to Congress.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Called or Chosen?

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Men are more likely than women to see themselves as good candidates for political office, even when they have similar careers and experience.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Female Candidates

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Political parties play a major role in candidate recruitment to the US House and Senate.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parties and Nominations

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. The residency requirement means that members of Congress must have been born in the state they represent.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Formal Rules of the Game

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Redistricting is a largely neutral, apolitical process that gives political parties little influence.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Districting in the House

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. The laws around nominating candidates for congressional office vary widely among states.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Rules of the Nominating Game

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Illegal immigrants are included in population counts that determine the number of House members apportioned to each state.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Census Politics

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Each major party is required to field a candidate for House and Senate in each district or state.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Called or Chosen?

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. The Supreme Court has ruled that partisan gerrymandering is acceptable under the Constitution.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Partisan Gerrymandering

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Independents and minor party candidates make up a substantial proportion of both the House and Senate.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Called or Chosen?

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. In a closed primary, candidates may only appear on the ballot after being explicitly approved by party leaders.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Rules of the Nominating Game

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Nominations for open-seat races are certain to feature contested primaries.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Rules of the Nominating Game

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Why do incumbents often face low-quality challengers?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Incumbency Factor

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. What is the difference between a closed primary and an open primary, and which do party leaders prefer?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Rules of the Nominating Game

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Why do political amateurs sometimes run for congressional office?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Amateurs and Professionals

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. How does an amateur’s behavior differ from that of a professional in deciding which office to run for?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Amateurs and Professionals

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. What are the two major problems of redistricting, and how have they been solved (or not)?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Malapportionment

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Is gerrymandering a major cause of polarization in Congress? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Partisan Gerrymandering

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Are majority-minority districts good or bad for minority representation in Congress?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Majority-Minority Districts

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. What are influence districts and why do some Democrats prefer them to majority-minority districts?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Majority-Minority Districts

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. What role do political parties play in congressional candidate recruitment?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Called or Chosen?

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Why do congressional candidates typically choose to work through one of the two major parties?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Called or Chosen?

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. How do political scientists measure candidate quality?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Finding Quality Candidates

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Select one of the Supreme Court cases on redistricting or voting rights mentioned in chapter 3. Outline the major arguments on each side of the case and the justifications used by Supreme Court justices in making their ruling. How has this case impacted congressional elections?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Various

Difficulty Level: Hard

13. Choose a House race from the most recent electoral cycle and explain how candidate recruitment played a role in the election. Were the candidates amateurs or professionals? Were party organizations an important factor, and if so, how?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Various

Difficulty Level: Hard