Terms
These individuals are the ones actually running for office and presenting their ideas to voters.
Candidates
A student sees an ad where a candidate promises to fix school lunch quality, so the student becomes more interested in the election. This scenario shows the influence of this election role.
A candidates message
This amendment lowered the voting age, expanding the audience campaigns must reach
26th Amendment
A candidate suddenly shifts their message to focus on job growth after their team’s polling shows it’s the top issue for undecided voters. This scenario highlights the campaign manager’s job of using this type of data.
What is polling date or voter data
Who won the election between Didac and Minelly?
Minelly
This person helps organize a candidate’s strategy, schedule, and message to keep the campaign on track.
Campaign Managers
A campaign team decides not to hold any more rallies and instead focuses on online videos after seeing that most young voters follow the candidate on social media. This scenario shows the work of this person.
The Campaign manger
This amendment changed the way U.S. Senators are chosen—from state legislatures to direct popular vote.
17th Amendment
A news outlet chooses to cover one candidate’s small mistake all week, even though bigger policy issues are happening. This scenario demonstrates this media power, which shapes what voters think is important.
Agenda Setting
Who was Didac openly willing to stop funding?
Israel
Television, social platforms, and news outlets make up this group that shapes what information voters see during elections.
The Media
A news channel highlights a major debate mistake made by a candidate, leading many viewers to question the candidate’s preparation. This scenario shows the impact of this group.
The Media
This Constitutional principle ensures that the media can report on campaigns without government censorship before publication.
What is prior restraint
An interest group creates a “voter guide” comparing candidates on one specific issue — like healthcare — and hands it out at community events. This scenario shows how interest groups try to affect this part of voter behavior.
Voter decision making
Who were the people supporting the candidates?
party members
These organizations often influence elections indirectly by funding PACs, mobilizing supporters, and producing issue-focused ads rather than endorsing a specific political party.
Interest groups
A national organization that supports environmental policy grades candidates based on how “green” their voting records are, and releases the scorecard right before Election Day to influence voters. This scenario demonstrates the strategy of this kind of group.
Interest Groups
This amendment limits presidents to two terms, affecting long-term campaign planning for political parties.
22nd Amendment
A campaign manager coordinates volunteers, fundraising, message testing, and event planning so the candidate presents a consistent image across all platforms — from speeches to TikTok videos. This illustrates the campaign manager’s role in maintaining this essential part of modern campaigning.
What is message discipline
What is the group advertising for the candidates
Candidates' Campaigns
This term describes how candidates, campaign staff, media coverage, and interest-group messaging all interact to shape voter opinions long before ballots are cast — often determining which issues dominate an election.
campaign narrative (You could also accept “the political agenda” or “agenda-setting.”)
A candidate proposes a new education plan, an interest group releases ads supporting it, the media debates whether the plan is realistic, and the campaign manager pushes the candidate to talk about it at every event. This scenario shows how these various roles interact to shape this broader concept in elections.
What is agenda setting
This Supreme Court decision, based on the First Amendment, ruled that political spending by corporations and interest groups counts as protected speech.
Citizens United v. FEC
A candidate gives a speech announcing a new policy. An interest group immediately releases ads interpreting the policy their own way, while multiple media outlets report on it with different tones — some positive, some critical. The combined effect shapes how the public understands the policy before reading it themselves. This demonstrates this powerful election concept.
What is framing
What is one of the biggest nonphysical ways to sway the votes?
Social Media