C HA PT E R 7
POLITICAL PARTIES
What Is a Party?
• A political party is a group of persons who seek
to control government by winning elections and
holding office.
• The two major parties in American politics are
the Republican and Democratic parties.
• Parties can be principle-oriented, issue-oriented,
or election-oriented. The American parties are
election-oriented.
What Do Parties Do?
 Nominate Candidates—Recruit, choose, and present
candidates for public office.
 Inform and Activate Supporters—Campaign, define issues, and
criticize other candidates.
 Act as a Bonding Agent—Guarantee that their candidate is
worthy of the office.
 Govern—Members of government act according to their
partisanship, or firm allegiance to a party.
 Act as a Watchdog—Parties that are out of power keep a close
eye on the actions of the party in power for a blunder to use
against them in the next election.
Why a Two-Party System?
 The Historical Basis. The nation started out with two-parties: the
Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
 The Force of Tradition. America has a two-party system because it
always has had one. Minor parties, lacking wide political support,
have never made a successful showing, so people are reluctant to
support them.
 The Electoral System. Certain features of government, such as
single-member districts, are designed to favor two major parties.
 Ideological Consensus. Most Americans have a general agreement
on fundamental matters. Conditions that would spark several strong
rival parties do not exist in the United States.
Party as nominator of
candidates
 Most states use the primary as a way of
nominating
 Some use caucus or conventions-party
leaders play stronger role in nominating
How ballots are organized
affects party nominations
 Party column ballot-easier to vote straight
ticket.
 Office block ballot-organized by office
candidate is running for, makes straight ticket
less likely
 Nonpartisan elections-no affiliation with
party is indicated on ballot-local, judicial
Party Column
Ballot
Office Column
Ballot
The Caucus-history & modern
use
 Caucus-meeting of local party members to
choose party officials or candidates for public
office and to decide the platform
 By 1820’s this became corrupt-backroom
deals
Convention method of
nomination
 1830’s-1840’s Party Conventions-delegates,
usually chosen directly by party members
 Once again, falls to corruption, replaced by
primary election
How do primaries differ?
 1.) who may run and how one qualifies for the
ballot;
 2.) whether the party organization can or
does endorse candidates before the primary;
 3.) who may vote in a party’s primary;
 4.) how many votes are need for nominationplurality, majority or some other number
determined by party rule or state law.
Impact of differing types of
Primary elections
 Open primaries-any voter, regardless of party
may vote
Permits crossover voting-Republicans voting in
Democratic primary & vice versa
 Closed primaries-only persons of registered in
the party holding that primary may vote
Primary system and the Power
of the Party
 Decreases the role of the party in nominating
candidates.
 Party officials have less influence in an
election so have much less control over
nominations
 ***PARTY’S DO NOT CONTROL WHO IS
NOMINATED IN OUR CANDIDATE CENTERED
SYSTEM
Blanket Primaries
 Washington and California experimented
with this
 All voters could vote for any candidate,
regardless of party-allowed raiding of other
parties ballot
Watchdog Role
 Parties give each other a polite reprieve from
attack shortly after an election
 This is called the honeymoon period.
 Most Presidents have used this to their
advantage-the first 100 days.
The Party as an agent of
governing
 Legislative: all committees are chaired by
majority party, all committees have a
majority of members that are of the majority
party in that house.
 Executive: Patronage- President appoints or
selects party loyalists to key government and
federal judicial positions
 Patronage…the awarding of government jobs
to persons of the winning party
The Party as agent of
governing
 Even the party in power must moderate its
position because it usually needs the help of
the minority…to get legislation passed and
especially to get re-elected.
Other Party Systems
 Multi party systems-parliamentary systems
 Exception –England-strong two party system
 Italy/Israel-many parties-coalitions necessary,
minor parties get concessions(positions in
cabinet, etc.) in exchange
 Creates incentive and environment for strong
third/fourth parties to flourish
Multiparty Systems
 Parties run slates of candidates for legislature
 Winners determined by Proportional
Representation-parties receive proportion of
legislators based on proportion of votes
________________________________________
 U.S.-Winner-take-all-only candidate with
most votes takes office.
 Minor parties can rarely overcome the
assumption that a vote for them is wasted
 Plurality-most votes Majority-more than
50%
Multiparty Systems
Advantages
Disadvantages
 Provides broader
 Cause parties to form
representation of the
people.
 More responsive to the
will of the people.
 Give voters more
choices at the polls.
coalitions, which can
dissolve easily.
 Failure of coalitions
can cause instability in
government.
One-Party Systems
Types of One-Party
Systems
One Party
Systems where
only one party is
allowed.
Modified One-Party
Systems where one
party regularly wins
most elections
Example:
Example:
Dictatorships such as
Stalinist Russia
Republican North and
Democratic South until the
1950s.
Party Membership Patterns
Factors that can influence party membership:
Family
Major events
Economic Status
Religion
Occupation
Age
The Nation’s First Parties
Federalists
Anti-Federalists
 Led by Alexander
 Led by Thomas Jefferson
Hamilton
 Represented wealthy
and upper-class interests
 Favored strong
executive leadership and
liberal interpretation of
the Constitution
 Represented the
“common man”
 Favored Congress as the
strongest arm of
government and a strict
interpretation of the
Constitution
Change and Continuity
 Parties have changed but many important
elements of the system have not.
 Such as…
~Parties are moderate and accommodating
~minor parties have played a role but never
eclipsed the major parties
~the “plate tectonics” of parties had been
realigning elections-a turning point that
redefines the agenda and the alignment of
voters within the parties
Realigning Elections
 Characteristics:
 1. intense electoral involvement(voters)
 2. disruption of traditional voters
 3. changes in relationships of power within the
community
 4. formations of new and durable electoral
groupings
Realigning Elections contin…
 Final Characteristic:
 5. Cyclical-coincide with
 a. expansion in suffrage or
 b. changes in rate of voting
Key Realigning Elections
1824, 1860, 1896, 1932
1824
 Jackson defeated by John Q. Adams in the
House of Reps
 Comes back with Martin Van Buren to win by
combining various interests and regions
 Solidifies a new Democratic Party with nation
wide support
Federalists become the Whigs
1860
 Republican Party evolves out of crisis over
slavery
 Lincoln elected in 1860, dominate for 50 yrs.
 Dems survive only with white male base in
South
Election of 1896
McKinley
Bryan
1896
 Party in power did not change hands
 * exception called a converting realignment
because party in power was same but was
reinforced by those characteristics of
realignment because of the threat to the
party
1932
 Laissez faire economics-hands off-Hoover vs.
 Keynesian economics-government could
influence economy through fiscal and
monetary policy adopted by FDR
American Parties: Four Major Eras
The Three Historical Eras
The Era of the Democrats, 1800—1860
– Democrats dominate all but two presidential elections.
– The Whig Party emerges in 1834, but declines by the 1850s,
electing only two Presidents.
– The Republican Party is founded in 1854.
The Era of the Republicans, 1860—1932
– Republicans dominate all but four presidential elections.
– The Civil War disables the Democratic Party for the remainder of
the 1800s.
The Return of the Democrats, 1932—1968
– Democrats dominate all but two presidential elections.
– Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected President four times.
American Parties: Parties Today
The Start of a New Era: The Era of Divided Government
Since 1968, neither Republicans nor Democrats have dominated the
presidency and Congress has often been controlled by the opposing party.
1968–1976
Republicans hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Democrats
1976–1980
Democrats hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Democrats
1992 – 2000
1980–1992
Democrats hold the presidency
Republicans hold the presidency
Congress controlled by
Senate controlled by Republicans 1980-1986,
Republicans, 1994 to present
controlled by Democrats from 1986 to 1994
2000
Republicans hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Republicans
Minor Parties in the United States
Types of Minor
Parties
Ideological
Parties
Single-issue
Parties
Economic Protest
Parties
Example:
Libertarian
Party
Example: Free
Soil Party
Example: The
Greenback Party
Splinter Party
Example: “Bull
Moose” Progressive
Party
•Ideological parties tend to last the
longest
•Examples-Prohibition, Libertarian,
and Green parties
Minor Parties in the United States
Why Minor Parties Are Important
Minor parties play several important roles:
“Spoiler Role”
 Minor party candidates can pull decisive votes away
from one of the major parties’ candidates, especially if
the minor party candidate is from a splinter party.
Critic
 Minor parties, especially single-issue parties, often
take stands on and draw attention to controversial
issues that the major parties would prefer to ignore.
Innovator
 Often, minor parties will draw attention to important
issues and propose innovative solutions to problems.
If these proposals gain popular support, they are often
integrated into the platforms of the two major parties.
Third Parties in History
 Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party
Third Parties in History,
contin…
 George Wallace’s American Independent
Party- 1968 election-13 million votes, 46
electoral votes
Continued…
 Ross Perot-The Reform Party- won 19 million
votes, 19% of the total vote in 1992
Reform Party contin…
 Without Ross Perot to lead it, Reform party
under candidate Pat Buchanan failed to get
even 1% of the popular vote.
The Decentralized Nature of
the Parties
Both of the major parties are highly decentralized
and fragmented.
•
•
•
Why?
The party out of power lacks a strong leader.
The federal system distributes powers widely, in turn causing the
parties to be decentralized.
The nominating process pits party members against one another
because only one person can chosen to be the party’s
presidential candidate.
National Party Machinery
The National
Convention
The National
Chairperson
The Congressional
Campaign
Committees
The National
Committee
All four elements of both major parties work together loosely to
achieve the party’s goals.
State and Local Party
Machinery
State and local party organization varies from State to
State, but usually follow the general principles below.
The Three Components of the
Party
Party
Components
The Party
Organization:
The Party in the
Electorate
The Party in
Government
Those who run and
control the party
machinery.
Those who always or
almost always vote
for party candidates.
Those who hold
office in the
government.
The Future of Major Parties
Weakened connections to political parties:
For voters :
For candidates:
 More people are unwilling to  Structural changes have increased
conflict and disorganization
label themselves as
within parties
“Democrats” or
 Changes in the technology of
“Republicans”
campaigning, especially the use
 Split-ticket voting—voting
of television and the Internet,
have made candidates more
for candidates of different
independent of the party
parties for different offices
organization
at the same election
 The growth of single-issue
 Distrust of Parties
organizations provides candidates
with another source of financial
support
Parties today
 Institutions:
 ~National party leadership
 National Convention
 National Committee
 National Party Chair
 Congressional/senatorial campaign committees
 Proposed soft money bans, but parties need $
Grass Roots
State, county, city level separate structure
Institutions of the Party,
contin…
 Party Platform-official statement, vague on
purpose
 Party platform-doesn’t help a presidential
candidate but can hurt a candidate
Party Activists
 Those who identify themselves as strong
Republican or strong Democrat are the most
active in politics and are generally more
knowledgeable and informed.
The Fate of the Party system
 Three challenges
 1. Parties do not take meaningful
and contrasting positions on issues
 2. Party membership is meaningless
 3. Parties are concerned with the middle of the
ideological spectrum so they are not
capable of social progress
Is the Party System in
Severe Decline?
 Reforms of early 1900’s progressives weaken
parties
 Nonpartisan elections and the large number
of elections make it harder for party to exert
influence
 The new media have reinforced the role of
the candidate
Will the Parties have a
revived role?
 The national party organizations are better
funded
 Have the big $$$ that candidates need in
such an expensive election process.
Party Unity
 Party Unity Score-the percentage of
members who vote together on roll call votes
in Congress
Clinton had the highest party unity scores from his
party in 1993 than any party in the past 40 years
85% of Dems, 84% of Reps