What is a Political Party? A group of individuals organized under a label who attempt to influence government by electing their members to important government offices

Parties Serve a Number of Important Functions Recruit candidates Mobilize voters Sense of identification Avenue of influence Organize and run government

Tri-Partite Entities Party In Government (Candidates and office holders in state, local, and national government) Party in the Electorate (Party affiliation, information cue, voter mobilization) Party Organization (Party bureaucracy, officials, and workers)

Characteristics of a Responsible Party System Fusion government At least two (frequently more) competitive parties Clearly distinguishable platforms Winning party implements platform

Why Doesn’t the U.S. Have a Responsible Party System? Constitutional ProvisionParty System Characteristic Separation of powersNon-fusion government Single-member districts Heterogeneous two-party system Geographic representationNon-cohesive parties FederalismDecentralized party system

Evolution of the Party System Political Machines  Party organizations that controlled government through a system of patronage and favors in exchange for electoral support

Keys to machine politics Ability to control nominations  Candidates were hand-picked Ability to monitor voters  Party-strip ballot Ability to reward voters  Patronage (gov’t jobs and contracts)  Financial and other support

The Demise of Political Machines Progressive Reforms  Weakened control of nominations Direct Primary Non-partisan elections  Weakened control over voters (Australian) Ballot reform  Weaken ability to reward supporters Merit system Changes in society

Party Organizations Today Hierarchical, Bottom-up organizations  State and Local  National  Congressional Campaign Committees

Functions of Party Organizations Support the Party Apparatus  Raise money Support Candidates  Polling  Production facilities  Campaign schools  Phone banks  Money Hard money--directly to candidate Soft money—party building activities

Financing the Parties (Millions of Dollars, 2000)

Party in the Electorate Party Identification  Voting Cue  Attitude Formation  Voter Turnout

Party Coalitions

Changes in Partisanship Over Time Ebb and flow of partisans

Realignment?

Dealignment?

Split-Ticket Voting

Divided Government

Evidence of Party Resurgence Predicting the Vote Greater Ideological Content