Parties and what
they do
The Big Idea
Political Parties, essential to democratic
government, shape the way government
works and perform important functions.
Nominate Candidates
Ensure Candidate
Quality
Inform & Inspire voters
Act as Watchdogs
Help Govern
Political Parties
• “A group of persons who seek to control
government through the winning of elections
and the holding of public office”
• US Has 2 Major Parties → Two Party system
Essential to democratic gov.
• Lead to policy developments
• Different choices of who & how to govern
• One way for the people to express their
opinions
• Theoretically they are supposed to
facilitate compromise
Democrats
What do you already know?
Republicans
What do you already know?
Minor Parties
• There are more than just 2 parties
• MANY MANY Minor parties
Major Functions
of Political
Parties
Nominating Candidates
• Parties select candidates
and present them to the
public
• there needs to be a
procedure for this
• political parties are the best option
• They choose, present and groom
the best candidate to fill the needs
of the party platform
• So this process falls almost
exclusively to the parties
Informating & Inspiring Supporters
• Other groups can do this
• BUT the parties do it the most
• they are also better equiped and
organized
• Shapes the positions of the
candidates
• sponser adds
• gets out and informs the voters
• knock on doors
• hand out sample ballots or
surveys
Ensure Candidate Quality
• The parties make sure that the candidates chosen to
represent the party and its members behave themselves
• make sure the candidates are:
• qualified
• good characters
• Takes responsibility for the actions of the public officials
representing the party
Help Govern
• Most candidates are chosen due to their party relationship
and their ability to follow the party line
• Partisanship
• party line
• the strong support of the party and its policies
• Party Platform
• a list of the principles which a political party supports in
order to appeal to the general public and the purpose
of having a party's candidate voted into office
Act as a Watchdog
• This is especially true for the party that is not in power
• party in power is the one that has control of the
executive branch
• governor on the state level
• president on the national level
• criticize and try to win over the public against the party
that is currently in power
• make sure they don’t maintain power