Review for Political Parties, and Elections and Campaigns

Kelly Walker

Functions of Political Parties

• Linkage Institution: Connecting citizens to their government

• Running candidates for political office• Informing the public• Organizing the government

Why a Two Party System?

• Consensus of Values• Historical Influence• Winner-take-all election system• Realignments occur at the beginning and end of a

party era. (issues change and schisms form between groups)

Proportional system: the percentage of votes for a party’s candidates is directly applied as a percentage of representatives in the legislature. More voices are heard.

Organization of the Two Party System

A Strong Grassroots organization (the candidate runs the campaign with support from the party)Both have:1. A national committee composed of representatives from each state

and territory2. A full time paid national chairman that manages day to day work of

the party3. A national convention that meets formally every four years during the

summer before a presidential election in November4. A congressional campaign committee that assists both incumbents

and challengers5. A broad not always consistent ideological base since they must appeal

to a large number of voters

Historical Development of the Parties

• Long periods of dominance by one party- until realignment occurs because issues change, and new schisms form between groups

Historical Development of the Parties

The Early Years• 1st parties: • Federalists- eventually die out (Hamilton)

urban- business class- strong central govt.• Anti-Federalists- become Democratic-

Republicans (Jefferson) strong state govts , rural interests, and weaker central govt. This party dominates until 1828.

Historical Development of the Parties

Jacksonian Democracy:• Whigs emerge- represented the interests of the

old Federalist party• Jackson: 1st democrat • 1st national convention to nominate a candidate

for presidency- delegates selected from each state rather than a handful of eltie party leaders

• North/South Tensions- Form Republican party 1860.

Historical Development of the Parties

• Republican Era: 1861-1933• Also dominated the legislature• Championed Industrial Revolution- business

Historical Development of the Parties

• The Second Democratic Era: 1933-1969

• Roosevelt Coalition- a combination of many different groups of voters that wanted Hoover defeated

Historical Development of the Parties

• The Era of Divided Government: 1969-2008• Balance of Power between the Dems and Reps• Divided: presidency and legislature• Gridlock

Historical Development of the Parties

• The Republican Hold on the Presidency from 1969 to 1993- (Carter 77-81)

• 60s republican paid attention to the electronic media and the importance of paid professional consultants and public opinion polls

• Democrats became concerned with grass roots or common man representation- 1968 convention showed party was factionalized and leaderless. McGovern-Frasier Commission led the Dems to represent minorities and women at the convention.

Historical Development of the Parties

• Divided Government Today• Under Reagan, the Dems adopted Republican

strategy and numbers grew.• Divided govt. remained (1969 until today)• A few periods were executive and Legislative

are the same, but rare.

Minor Parties

• 2 categories:1. Dominated by an individual2. Organized around a long-lasting goal or

ideology

Populist party: there goals were adopted by a major party deferring to the winner-take-all system

Party Power: The Effects of Dealignment

• Over the last 50 years, party identification has weakened

• More are Independent• Many are less willing to vote a “straight ticket”• Many political scientists believe the party

structure is weakening

Party Power: The Effects of Dealignment

• Early 20th century Reforms• Patron-Client system led to reform: took

control of nominations from party leaders and gave it to the rank-and-file- also established:

1. primary elections at the state level2. established the civil service3. direct election of Senators4. Women’s suffrage

Party Power: The Effects of Dealignment

• Late 20th Century DevelopmentsElectronic media campaigns, professional consultants and direct-mail recruitment of voters has led to:1. Less party clout over politicians and policy as

politicians are more responsive to their personal following than to party leadership

2. National party organization are better funded3. Parties are deeply entrenched organizational

blocks for government, especially Congress

Realignment of 2008?

• Republican sweep of 2004- both executive and legislative branch.

• Split between red and blue• Voters were especially loyal to their parties• Break-up of the “solid south” long time dems

replaced by republicans• 2008, shift to Democrats (Virginia, Indiana)• More young and minority voters

Elections and Campaigns

• Functions of elections:1. Choose political leaders from a competitive

field of candidates2. Form of political participation3. Legitimizes the political system of the United

States4. Serve as a peaceful transition from one

leader to the other

Guidelines for Elections

• Constitutional• Elections for the House every 2 years• Creates the Electoral College• Congress sets the day for elections• Elections in the Senate every 6 years, 1/3

every 2 years• President elected for 2, 4 year terms

Role of Political Parties in Elections

• The candidate must take the initiative to run for office

• The candidate must announce their intent, raise money, collect signatures to get their name on the ballot and personally appeal to voters in primary elections

• The power of parties has dwindled as campaign techniques have changed.

The Election system in the US: Winner-Take-All

1. The candidate with the most votes wins. They do not have to have a majority (more than 50%), but a plurality; the largest number of votes.

2. Most American elections are based on single-member-districts, which means that in any district (geographical region) the election determines one representative or official.

3. The census determines the population, the state legislatures determines the districts.

Primaries

• The run-off elections for the parties; Types1. Closed- voter must declare in advance his or

her party membership (most states have this)2. Open- do not need to declare party affiliation3. Blanket (free love)- a voter marks a ballot

that lists candidates for all parties and can select Rep for one office and Dem for another

Primaries

• Caucuses: Iowa- local party members meet and agree on the candidate they will support; the local caucuses pass the information on to regional caucuses, who in turn vote on candidates-

• States individually determine the rules for voting in primaries- history and tradition

General Elections

• Once political parties select their candidates, they campaign against another until the general election where the voters make the final selection of who will fill the office.

• More people vote in the general election than in the primary and most vote during a presidential election.