Political Parties, Candidates, and Campaigns
Chapter 8
AP U.S. Government and Politics
Introduction
• A political party is an ongoing coalition of interests
joined together to try to get its candidates for
public office elected under a common label.
• U.S. campaigns are both party-centered and
candidate-centered.
– Party-centered - the Republican and Democratic parties
compete across the country election after election.
– Candidate-centered - individual candidates devise their
own strategies, choose their own issues, and form their
own campaign organizations.
The History of U.S. Parties
• Parties are linkage institutions; they serve to
connect citizens with government.
– Party Competition develops when Americans vote.
• Voters choose between candidates who represent the
Republican and Democratic parties.
• Voter’s opinions are narrowed – they vote and the party that
wins gets to govern.
• Many of America’s early leaders distrusted parties.
• Washington warned of the “baneful effects” of parties in his
farewell address.
• Madison – likened parties to special interests – Federalist #10
The First Parties
• The first political parties originated from a rivalry
between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.
– Hamilton organized the Federalist Party.
– Jefferson created the Democratic-Republican Party.
• After Jefferson won the 1800 election, no Federalist would
again control the white house.
– In the 1820s, it appeared that the political system may
operate without parties.
• “The Era of Good Feeling”
– Policy differences split the Democratic-Republicans.
• The dominant faction, led by Andrew Jackson, became known
as the “Democrats”.
Andrew Jackson and Grassroots Parties
• Jackson’s goal – wrest political power from elites.
– Jackson created a grassroots party, a party organized at the
level of the voters, which depends on voter support.
• Voting rights were extended to those without property, causing
many more people to vote.
– During this time the Whig Party was created by opponents of
Jackson and the Democrats.
• It was short lived, as the issue of slavery tore the party apart.
– As the Whigs disintegrated, a northern-based party called
the Republican Party emerged.
• In 1860, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln won with just 40% of
popular vote, causing Southern states to secede.
• Civil War – only time in U.S. history where Two-Party system failed to
peacefully solve American’s political differences.
Republicans and Democrats – The Two-Party System
• Since the Civil War, America has settled into a pattern
of competition the Republican and Democratic parties.
– They have been able to respond to crucial times through
reorganization through change.
– Party Realignment occurs when dramatic shifts in partisan
preference drastically alter the political landscape.
– Preceding party realignment is one or more critical elections,
also known as realigning elections.
– A critical election is an election that signals a party
realignment through voter polarization around new issues
and personalities.
The Two-Party System, cont.
• Realignments are rare.
– Civil War realignment, 1896 election,
Great Depression (1930s)
• Today, the Republican Party
dominates politics in the South.
• Northeastern and Western States are
increasingly Democratic.
– Since the 1970s, divided government
has become common.
• In a divided government, different political
parties control the presidency and one or
both houses of Congress.
Electoral and Party Systems
• U.S. history has been dominated by a two-party system.
• Most democracies have a multiparty system, in which
three or more parties have the capacity to control
government.
• America’s two-party system is the result of voting in
single-member districts. (House of Representatives)
– The candidate with the most votes in a district wins the
office – winner-take-all system.
– The Electoral College works this way as well – in most cases, whoever wins
a state’s popular vote gains all of that state’s electoral votes.
• Discourages minor parties.
– Different from Europe, where proportional representation is
used to allocate seats according to a party’s share of the
popular vote.
Politics in the Two-Party System
• The main goal of a political party is to get its candidates
elected to office.
– To do this, they try to attract majority support by staying
near the center of the political spectrum.
• Median Voter Theorem states that parties can maximize their vote
by winning voters in the middle.
• The Party Coalition refers to the groups and interests
that support a political party.
– The gender gap represents the difference between men and
women in political attitude and voting preference.
• Women – more likely to have liberal views and be Democrats.
• Hispanic vote is a major key to both parties; currently more
Democrats than Republicans.
Minor (Third) Parties
• The U.S. has always had minor political parties.
– They form to promote policies their followers do not
believe are being represented adequately by the two
major parties.
Types of Minor Parties
– Reform parties – Claim that the two major parties are
having a corrupting influence on government.
• Progressive Party, Reform Party (Ross Perot)
– Single-issue parties – Formed around a single issue of
overriding interest to its followers.
• Free-soil Party, Prohibition Party, Right to Life Party
Types of Minor Parties
– Ideological parties – characterized by ideological
commitment to a broad philosophical position.
• Socialist Workers Party, Libertarian Party
– Factional Parties – minor parties created when a faction
within one party breaks away to form its own party.
• Bull Moose Party (Roosevelt), States’ Rights Party
What are the functions of a political party?
– Get their candidates elected.
• Recruit candidates for office.
– Organize and run campaigns.
• Organize voter registration drives, recruit volunteers, work to
increase participation.
– Present alternative policies for operating the government.
– Provide a political identity.
• Each party has an image – gives the public a familiar platform.
– Endorsing specific policies.
– Coordinating policymaking.
• Through party identification, politicians in different government
branches work together and support each other.
What are the functions of a political party?
– Accepting responsibility for operation of government.
• Staffing executive branch with party supporters, developing
linkages among officials to implement their policies.
– Act as organized opposition to the party in power.
• By organizing opposition to the “in” party, the opposition party
forces debate on policy alternatives.
The Weakening of Parties
• Many political scientists feel political parties are getting
weaker.
– Candidates, not parties, have the most influence in politics.
– More people identify themselves as independents.
• More campaigns are candidate-centered as opposed to party
centered.
• Increase in split-ticket voting.
– Parties are more “open.”
• Direct primary elections replaced parties nominating candidates for
office.
• Candidates now compete for public support, not necessarily the
support of their party leaders.
The Weakening of Parties, cont.
– Candidates now directly get most money.
• It doesn’t pass through party leaders.
– Decline of patronage jobs also weakened parties.
• Government jobs are given to people loyal to a particular
candidate, not an entire party.
– Dealignment – General decline in party identification
and party loyalty in the electorate.
• Despite losing influence, party organizations are in
no danger of going extinct.
The Structure and Role of Party Organizations
• Structurally, U.S. parties are loose associations of
national, state, and local organizations.
Local Party Organizations
– Parties are organized from the bottom up, not top down.
• 95 % of party activists work at the local level.
– Local parties concentrate on local elections.
• They also take secondary roles in state and national elections.
State Party Organizations
– At the state level, each party is headed by a central
committee.
• Made up of members of local party organizations and local and state
officeholders.
• Day-to-day operations are carried out by a chairperson.
– Concentrate on statewide races – governor and U.S. Senator,
and state legislatures.
National Party Organizations
– National party organizations are structured in a similar
way as those at the state level.
• Their power is largely confined to setting organizational policy
and determining the site of the presidential nominating
convention.
Campaigns
• Campaigns have two major parts – the nomination
campaign and the general election campaign.
– The nomination campaign is aimed at winning a primary
election.
• The candidate is the center of the campaign, but there
is a large campaign staff, made of political consultants.
• The campaign manager travels with the candidate and coordinates
the campaign.
• The finance chair coordinated the financial business of the
campaign.
• The communications director develops the media strategy for the
candidate.
• Volunteers are also very
important to campaigns at
the local, state, and national
level.
Campaign Finance
• Major role of Party Organizations in campaigns –
raise and spend money.
• The U.S. has tried to find ways to regulate campaign
finance.
– In 1971, Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign
Act, requiring disclosure of campaign finance.
• Congress later amended the FECA to include additional ways to
regulate spending, including the creation of the Federal
Election Commission (FEC) and limiting campaign
contributions.
• Buckley v. Valeo (1976) struck down various FECA limits on
spending as unconstitutional violations of free speech.
• Most money raised is spent on recruiting voters and
advertising.
– Some money is given directly to Senate or House
candidates for their campaigns.
– This money, along with the money a candidate receives
from individual contributors or interest groups is called
hard money.
– Hard money is subject to strict limits.
– Soft Money – campaign contributions that are not
subject to legal limits because they were given to
parties, not individual candidates.
• Soft money contributions are no longer legal as a result of the
enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA),
also known as McCain-Feingold.
– Ban on soft money does not apply to “527 groups”,
which are non-profit political groups.
– “527 groups” now are allowed to run ads on issue
advocacy, but can’t attack a specific candidate.
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
(2010) – Supreme Court ruled that corporations and
unions can’t be banned from spending money on
campaigns.
• It was ruled that they have the same 1st Amendment rights as
individuals and spending money was considered a method of
speech.
Sources of Campaign Funding
– Candidates get campaign money in many different ways.
• Individuals can donate money to candidates ($2,500 per
candidate per election).
• Political parties give donations to candidates ($5,000 per
House candidate; $43,100 per Senate candidate).
• Personal Savings are not regulated.
• Political Action Committees (PACs) are officially recognized
fund-raising organizations that represent interest groups and
are allowed by law to make direct contributions to campaigns.
• 527 Committees
• 501(c) Groups – interest groups whose primary purpose is not
electoral politics.
• Super PACs – political action committees established to make
independent expenditures.
– Unlike traditional PACs, they cant give money directly to candidates or
party committees.
– They are not subject to expenditure limits.
– They spent over $600,000,000 on the 2012 Presidential Election.
• Public funds – donations from tax revenues are also given to
qualifying candidates if they apply for matching funds.
Candidate-Centered Campaigns
• Party committees have a service relationship with
candidates.
– They assist candidates, but have no power to require them to
support positions.
– Today’s campaigns are controlled by the candidates.
• Campaign costs continue to rise.
– Incumbents have an advantage in fundraising.
– Since campaigns are so expensive, the money chase is
relentless.
• Political Consultants are key operatives in today’s
campaigns.
– They are private sector professionals who advise candidates
on aspects of their campaigns.
• Political consultants are skilled at packaging
candidates.
– Packaging refers to the process of recasting the
candidate’s record into an appealing image.
Reaching Voters
• Campaigns use a variety of methods to try to
influence voters.
– Air wars – the main battleground of the modern
campaign, mainly through the use of TV ads.
• Campaign advertisements take a number of forms.
• Positive ads stress a candidate’s qualifications, family, and
issue positions without directly referencing the opponent.
• Negative ads attack the opponent’s character or platform.
• Contrast ads compare the record and proposals of the
candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the
ad.
• Inoculation ads attempts to counteract an anticipated ad
before the attack is launched.
– Ground wars concentrate on getting swing voters to the
polls.
• “Get-out-the-vote” efforts
– Web wars are conducted using the internet to provide
information, generate support, recruit volunteers, and raise
money.
• Many experts feel that internet advertising will overtake TV as the
main medium of political campaigns.
• Advertising is cheaper on the internet.
Public Influence on Parties and Candidates
• Candidate-centered campaigns have some distinct
advantages.
– They infuse new blood into politics.
– They lend flexibility to electoral politics.
• When issues change, self-directed candidates adjust quickly.
– They encourage national officeholders to be responsive to
local interests.
• Candidate-centered campaigns also have
disadvantages.
– They become fertile ground for interest groups.
• They give large sums of money, allowing them to influence the
election’s outcome.
– They weaken accountability by making it easier for
officeholders to deny responsibility for government
action.
• Candidate-centered campaigns strengthen the
relationship between voters and candidates while
weakening the relationship between the electorate
and their representative institutions (parties).