National Party Structure National Party Structure TodayToday

National Party Structure National Party Structure Both Republicans and Democrats have

similar organizational structures A brief introduction…

◦National Convention A meeting of party delegates held every 4

years

◦National Committee Delegates who run party affairs between

national conventions.

◦National Campaign Committee Focuses on strategy of election/campaign

◦National Chairperson Day-to-day party manager elected by the

national committee

DifferencesDifferencesRNC moved to bureaucratic

structure◦Well-financed◦Used technology to raise $$◦Created national firm of political

consultantsDemocrats were factionalized

◦And lost because of it◦Learned from Republicans and

caught up

National Convention National Convention Officially nominate party’s presidential

candidate (ratify choices made in primary season)

Develop party platform Formulas used to allocate delegates to the

conventions◦ Democrats also have superdelegates— don’t

have to commit to a candidate beforehand, therefore can vote for any despite the primary

Democrats reward large statesRepublicans reward loyal states

Delegates tend to be more liberal than ordinary Democratic voters and more conservative than Republicans

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s the superdegelates!

National Chairperson National Chairperson Selected by party’s presidential

candidateServes as spokesperson for the

partyEstablishes national

headquarters, raises campaign funds, etc.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrats

Reince Priebus, Republicans

State Party Structure State Party Structure Real strength and power of a national

party at the state level No “average” state party because all

50 are different, but most have some organizational features in common ◦State party chairperson◦State central committee

Responsible for policy decisions of party’s state convention

Composed of members representing congressional districts, state legislative districts, or counties

Local Parties Local Parties The Machine

◦Recruits members via tangible incentives Ideological Parties

◦Principle is more important than winning elections

Solidary Groups◦Members motivated by solidary incentives

Sponsored Parties◦Created or sustained by another

organization Personal Following

◦Political supported provided to candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks

The Two-Party System The Two-Party System A. Rarity among nations todayB. Evenly balanced nationally, but not locally C. Why has the two-party system endured

for so long?1. Electoral system – winner-take-all and plurality system limit the number of parties 2. Opinions of voters – two broad coalitions work, although there may be times of bitter dissent 3. State laws have made it very difficult for third parties to get on the ballot

Minor Parties Minor Parties Ideological parties – comprehensive, radical

view; most enduring (Examples: Socialist, Communist, Libertarian)

One-issue parties – address one concern, avoid others (Examples: Free Soil, Know-Nothing, Prohibition)

Economic protest parties – regional, protest economic conditions (Examples: Greenback, Populist)

Factional parties – from split in a major party, usually over the party’s presidential nominee (Examples: Bull Moose, Henry Wallace, American Independent Party)

Impact of Minor Parties Impact of Minor Parties

Surprising that more social movements have not produced their own parties

Impact of minor parties on American politics hard to judge