caucus

(noun)

A meeting, especially a preliminary meeting, of persons belonging to a party, to nominate candidates for public office, or to select delegates to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding measures of party policy; a political primary meeting.

Related Terms

Examples of caucus in the following topics:

  • The Caucus

    • A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement.
    • A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement.
    • Depending on how the caucus is organized, the caucus system may require voters to publicly announce the candidates they support.
    • A caucus can also be a sub-grouping of officials with shared affinities or ethnicities.
    • One of the best-known is the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of African-American congressmen.

  • Party Leadership in the Senate

    • The party leadership of the Senate refers to the officials elected by the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference.
    • The party leadership of the United States Senate refers to the officials elected by the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference to manage the affairs of each party in the Senate.
    • Each party is led by a floor leader who directs the legislative agenda of his caucus in the Senate, and who is augmented by an Assistant Leader or Whip, and several other officials who work together to manage the floor schedule of legislation, enforce party discipline, oversee efforts to elect new Senators, and maintain party unity.

  • Party Leadership in the House

    • House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus.
    • Party leaders and whips of the United States House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot.
    • The Majority Leader's duties and prominence varies depending upon the style of the Speaker of the House and the political climate within the majority caucus.
    • The floor leaders and whips of each party are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot.

  • Using Electoral Politics

    • One example of an interest group using electoral politics is the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC).
    • LaRouche was the leader of the National Caucus of Labor Committees, an interest group that later developed a distinct political party that nominated LaRouche for president of the U.S.

  • Primaries and Caucuses

    • Consequently, attaining a party nomination by winning a primary election or caucus is a necessary step to becoming a major election candidate.
    • The vast majority of states use primaries to nominate a candidate, but caucuses are notably used in Iowa, which is traditionally the first state to vote in the primary/caucus season.
    • Summarize the primary system and how a primary differs from a caucus

  • Congressional Campaign Committees

    • The Chairperson of the DCCC is the fourth ranking position among House Democrats, after the Minority Leader, the Minority Whip and the Democratic Caucus Chairperson.
    • After Emanuel's election as chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Chris Van Hollen became committee chair for the 110th Congress, and thus for the 2008 elections.

  • The Democratic Party

    • Since the 1930s, the party has promoted a social liberal, social democratic and progressive platform, and its Congressional caucus is composed of progressives, liberals, centrists, and left-libertarians.
    • The Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of fiscal and social conservatives and moderates, forms part of the Democratic Party's current faction of conservative Democrats.

  • Nominating Candidates

    • Due to changes in election laws, the primary and caucus calendar, and the manner in which political campaigns are run, parties enter their conventions with presumptive nominees.

  • National Convention

    • Due to changes in election laws, the primary and caucus calendar, and the manner in which political campaigns are run, conventions since the latter half of the 20th century have virtually abdicated their original roles, and are today mostly ceremonial affairs.

  • Voting as Political Participation

    • Rock the Vote (RTV), a nonpartisan youth mobilization organization, established the first online voter registration initiative in 1992 with official backing from the Congressional Internet Caucus.