Polls & Public Opinion
During campaign season, polls that measure which candidate is ahead (or which is behind) are sometimes called the "______________ race"
What is "horse?"
When someone is deciding how to vote, political scientists believe people rely mostly on this:
what is "party identification?"
According to this theory, one way the media exercises power in our politics is by choosing which issues to report on and to emphasize, which in turn shapes what the public believes is important.
what is "agenda-setting?"
what is "narrowcasting?"
To get elected president, a candidate must win this number, or a majority of the total of 538 electoral votes.
Suppose a poll asks “Would you be more or less likely to vote for Candidate Smith if you learned that Smith had cheated on their spouse and been investigated for financial misconduct?” What type of poll is this?
what is "push poll?"
In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump is believed to have helped Republicans running for Congress and other "down ballot" races win, through this effect:
what is the coat-tail effect?
An example of this theory of media power can be seen in news coverage of major flooding in cities along the East Coast. Some news reports focus on the devastation caused by the flood, while others focus on problems with the emergency response and getting aid to victims.
what is "framing?"
Thanks to this, suddenly your feed is full of similar content after watch three videos about one political issue.
what is "algorithm?"
New York currently has 28 electoral votes, which reflects this many seats in the House and this many seats in the Senate.
What is 26 and 2?
What sampling method gives every member of a population an equal chance of selection?
what is "random sample?"
Will the Republicans retain control of Congress in the 2026 election? Political scientists say this factor ___________, is one of the strongest predictors of whether they will win re-election.
what is, the state of the economy, or economic conditions?
According to this theory, if media coverage of the president emphasizes stumbling and falling, failing to finish sentences, and wandering around, the public will begin to see the president as old and struggling to do the job.
what is "priming?"
Your uncle shares a wild political headline, but before you believe it, you decided to this, which means you check several other news sites to see how accurate the information is.
what is "read laterally?"
In Texas in the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump won 56 percent of the vote, while Kamala Harris won 43 percent of the vote, but under this rule, Trump got all 40 of the state's electoral votes.
what is "winner-take-all?"
A poll shows a candidate leading their race by 3%, but the poll's margin of error is ±5%. How should the results be interpreted?
what is "too close to call?"
Invented by a Massachusetts governor more than 200 years ago, this is another name for the practice of drawing electoral district boundaries to one party an advantage in the election:
what is "gerrymandering?"
The President has a press secretary and staff, whose job is this________________, that is, promoting a favorable image of the president and tout the president's successes.
what is "public relations?"
In the past, newspaper editors and professional journalists, acting in this function, decided what was newsworthy and credible, but today social media users have do this themselves.
What is, users have become their own gatekeepers?
Because corporations and labor unions cannot give money directly to political campaigns, they instead contribute to these groups, which in turn, give that money to the campaign.
what are PACs?
1920s influencer Walter Lippmann warned against putting too much faith in public opinion and polling for these reasons:
many people don't pay attention to politics and don't know enough information
Elon Musk is expected to contribute more than $445 million in the 2026 election cycle to these groups, which are supposed to be independent of political campaigns.
What are Super-PACs?
Numerous stories appear in the media about the high cost of housing, gas prices, and groceries, and public opinion polls soon show "affordability" or "the economy" as the top issues for voters. This is an example of the media theory of:
what is "agenda-setting"?
In Jaime Settle’s Frenemies, this happens when social media blends political posts with personal photos, hobbies, and everyday updates, shaping how users perceive one another politically.
What is the blending of personal identity and political identity?
This theory of public opinion, which suggests that public opinion can show clear and consistent patterns and trends, challenges Walter Lippmann's view that most polling is meaningless.
what is "rational public?"