CLEP US Government

Category - Parties

Which of the following is the best explanation for why, in recent years especially, presidential candidates for the two major political parties have not been as near the ideological center as one might expect?
  1. The majority of voters are no longer near the center.
  2. The parties don’t really care about winning.
  3. Most years the parties haven’t been able to attract good centrist candidates.
  4. Candidates near the ideological middle have a harder time winning the party’s nomination.
  5. Voters are unaware of the ideological views of the candidate.
Explanation
Answer: D - In recent years the people near the ideological middle have been less involved in presidential primaries, making it harder for centrist candidates to win nominations. To win a party’s nomination, a candidate must appeal to the less moderate voters in the primaries. Once the primaries are over, the candidates try to run to the ideological middle again, but it generally isn’t successful.
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