Political parties in the
united states
chapter 5
Many political
parties exist….but
Democrats &
Republicans
dominate our sys.
Political party goals
– get their
candidates elected
& their issues
discussed in
Congress.
Goal- Gain majority in Congress and or
have their parties issues discussed in
Congress
Try to control Congress; or get some
policies passed.
House & Senate
One main function of Party to Chose
Candidates to control the government
A political party is a group of people with
common principles, who seek to control the
government
In reality, Two Major parties control
American Political System.
U.S. Congress 2015;
Republican Control
Platform- A parties statements, ideas,
policies & Beliefs
All Political parties have a platform!
Libertarian Platform- Less
governmental intervention & More
Personal Freedoms!
The U.S. Political Spectrum
Conservative- Believes in less governmental
control & more individual responsibility
Liberal- More governmental control & open to
more change
Why a two-Party System?
Historical Basis - from 1st days of political parties,
US has always had 2 main ones
Tradition - people get used to supporting “their” party
Electoral System – winner takes all system- most of
our elections pick a single officeholder
makes it extremely hard for 3rd parties
US - our 1st parties
wealthy, big business,
strong gov’t
Anti Federalist- later become
Democrat- Republicans Party
Do other countries
have different Party
Systems?
Multiparty Systems in other
countries.
Canadian parliament 2015
Australian Multiparty
One Party Rule
China- One party;
Communist Party
Vietnam & one party;
communist
Sect 3: minor Parties
Minor Party
Spoiler Role
Mr. Nader, Green Party,
won just 3 % of the
nationwide vote, but his
totals in the closely
contested states of
Florida, Oregon and New
Hampshire, gave Bush
the win in those states.
Took votes from Al Gore.
Minor Parties can take
votes away form a major
party Candidate
Splinter Party.
A splinter party is a
group that has broken
away from the primary
party in power. Today
it is a part of the
Republican party…
the Tea Party could
be seen as splinter
group.
Section 4: Party
Organization
STOP HERE IF WE HAVEN’T STARTED
THE LAST SECTION.
3 Step Process for Presidential Elections in
U.S.
• 1- Primary Elections in each State
• 2. Winners announced at National
Convention
• 3. General Election for the
Presidency & V.P.
Primary Elections
Many Democratic candidates & many
republican candidates
2008 Primary Elections
2008- Two Democratic Candidates..
The Convention votes between the candidates to decide who
will be the Republican Nominee…
2008 out of the Republican candidates, Mitt
Romney won and ran against the democratic
candidate.
Winners of the primary elections
are announced at….
Democratic or Republican Conventions!
National Conventions
Purpose: announce President & V.P. candidates
that will run against each other in the General
Election
2008 DNC, Denver, Colorado
2008, RNC, Minneapolis
Electoral System- Winner Take All in
General Election of Pres.
Presidential Election 2016
Democrats- Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Martin O’Malley
Republicans- Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb
Bush
Vocabulary- Ch. 5 sect. 1- Use
Quizlet on my website & book.
• Campaigns
Partisanship
• Electorate
Ballot
• Nominate
Minority Party
• Platform
Bipartisan
• Incumbent
many others… see
textbook & Quizlet