| Campaign strategy | the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign |
| National party convention | the supreme power within each of the parties. The convention meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice presidential candidates and to write the party's platform. |
| Presidential primaries | election in which voters in a state vote for a candidate. Most delegates to the national party conventions are chosen this way |
| McGovern-Fraser Commission | a commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation |
| Super delegates | National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot the democratic national party convention |
| Frontloading | the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention |
| Party platform | a political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate's strength. It is the best formal statement of a party's beliefs |
| Federal campaign act | a law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the federal election commission. Provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limited contributions. |
| Federal Election commission | a six member bipartisan agency created by the federal election campaign act of 1974. The FEC administers the campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements |
| Soft money | political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grass-roots level or the part advertising. Unlike money that goes to the campaign of a particular candidate, such party donations are not subject to contribution limits |
