Political Parties in American Government: Origins, Structures, Functions, and History

WHY DO POLITICAL PARTIES FORM?

• Definition and Distinction: Political parties are organizations seeking influence over government. They differ from interest groups primarily in their means; a party seeks to control government by electing its members to office. Interest groups support candidates through campaign contributions and assistance but do not usually sponsor them directly. Interest groups attempt to influence policy regardless of who is in office.

• Three Core Problems Parties Solve:

  • Facilitating Collective Action: This occurs in the electoral process where parties help candidates attract funds, assemble activists, and mobilize/persuade voters ($1$).

  • Collective Policy Making: Legislative and executive interactions (give-and-take) determine policy and electoral success ($2$).

  • Managing Political Ambition and Competition: Managing individual ambitions that might otherwise undermine the collective goals of the party organization ($3$).

• Politician Interests: Parties serve the interests of politicians by simplifying tasks such as running for office, organizing supporters, and forming governments.

FACILITATING COLLECTIVE ACTION AND CHOICE

• Intertwining with Elections: Party structure in the U.S. mirrors the electoral process; for every district where an election is held, there is typically a corresponding party unit.

• Brand Names and Resources: Parties provide local candidates with a "brand name," financial and human resources, and a link to national organizations. This helps voters overcome information costs and the free-riding problem that typically lowers turnout.

• Interest Alignment:

  • Republicans: Historically aligned with business interests, including small businesses and peak associations like the Chamber of Commerce.

  • Democrats: Since the $1930s$, aligned with labor unions and reformers focused on economic regulation.

  • Demographic Shifts: Women's groups moved from the Progressive Republican faction in the early $1900s$ to aligning with the Democratic Party by the $1970s$ (e.g., National Organization for Women). Immigrant groups also align: Irish with Democrats, Italians traditionally with Republicans, and Latinos mostly with Democrats (though Cubans historically favored Republicans due to anti-Castro stances).

• Reciprocity: Groups provide a reliable voting bloc, money, and personnel in exchange for influence over public policy when the party wins.

COLLECTIVE CHOICE AND AMBITION IN GOVERNMENT

• Policy Coalitions: Within government, parties are permanent coalitions of individuals with overlapping interests. This permanence reduces the time and effort needed to advance legislation by avoiding the need to build new alliances from scratch for every bill.

• Party Cohesion Gaps: Small majorities make even minor defections costly.

  • Example ($2019$): $4$ Republican senators broke with the party to end a government shutdown triggered by President Trump's request for $\$5.7$ billion for a border wall.

  • Example (Biden Administration): Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) forced the administration to pare down social welfare spending to secure infrastructure funding.

  • Example ($2024$ Foreign Aid): A Republican rule (Hastert-style) requires majority caucus support for the Speaker to bring a bill forward. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene led a faction to block military aid. Speaker Mike Johnson eventually brought the bill to the floor; it passed $311$ to $112$, even though only $102$ Republicans voted for it (while $112$ voted against), with all $209$ Democrats present voting in favor.

• Regulating Ambition: Parties Provide contexts to resolve clashing ambitions, such as primary elections and internal bodies (e.g., House/Senate committees) that distribute power positions and committee assignments. Centralized fund-raising provides incentives for politicians to remain loyal to the party line.

CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT AND NOMINATION

• Recruitment Needs: Party leaders seek charismatic, knowledgeable debaters with unblemished records and high fund-raising potential.

  • Cost Thresholds: Candidates often need $\$1$ million for a House seat, several million for a Senate seat, and over $\$1$ billion for the presidency.

  • Project GROW: A Republican initiative established in $2013$ to improve the recruitment of women candidates.

• Constitutional Silence: Article I, Section $4$ gives states the power to set the time, place, and manner of elections. The Constitution provides age and citizenship requirements but is silent on nominations:

  • President: Minimum age $35$, natural-born citizen, $14$ years a U.S. resident.

  • Senator: Minimum age $30$, U.S. citizen for $9$ years, resident of the state.

  • Representative: Minimum age $25$, U.S. citizen for $7$ years, resident of the state.

• Nomination definition: The process by which parties select candidates for election to public office.

METHODS OF NOMINATION: CONVENTIONS, PRIMARIES, AND CAUCUSES

• Nominating Convention: A formal meeting of party members bound by rules. In the $19th$ century, this was the standard for state and federal offices.

• Primary Election: Party members select nominees directly. This has replaced conventions as the dominant method since the $1960s$ and $1970s$.

  • Closed Primary: Participation is limited to individuals who previously registered with the party.

  • Open Primary: Individuals declare affiliation on election day at the polling place. These are less conducive to strong party organizations.

• Caucus: Meetings involving extensive discussion (e.g., Iowa, Nevada). Local caucuses select delegates for county-level conventions, which eventually select national convention delegates.

• Selection Effect: The shift to primaries and caucuses has led to candidate-centered politics, favoring those who are strong campaigners but not necessarily effective governors.

GETTING OUT THE VOTE AND FACILITATING CHOICE

• Voter Registration and Mobilization: Parties help overcome the "free-rider problem" (voters enjoying public goods without incurring the costs of voting) by mobilizing supporters using new technologies and "netroots" organizations.

• Lowering Information Costs: Party labels act as recognizable brand names (Heuristic).

  • Democratic Brand: Greater economic regulation, larger public sector, protection of civil rights (women, LGBTQIA+), and a secular approach.

  • Republican Brand: Limited government role in the economy, tax reductions, ban on abortion, and expanded role for religious organizations.

• Accountability: Parties allow voters to hold a collective entity responsible for government performance, avoiding the isolation of individual legislative outcomes.

PARTIES IN GOVERNMENT: INSTITUTIONS

• Congress: The Speaker of the House is a party officer selected by the majority-party caucus. Committees are organized by parties, with quotas corresponding to the percentage of seats held. Chairs are always members of the majority party, traditionally based on seniority.

• President and Party: The president is the de facto party leader.

  • Presidential Support Scores: Obama reached $96\%$; Trump reached a record $98\%$ during his first two years with a unified government. Under a divided government in $2023-2024$, Biden's success rate in the House dropped to $19\%$.

• Judiciary: While structurally nonpartisan, parties influence the bench through the nomination process.

  • State Level: $38$ states elect judges; $12$ appoint them with legislative consent. $8$ states use partisan elections.

PARTIES IN THE ELECTORATE

• Three Views of Party Identification (ID):

  1. Psychological Attachment: A long-term loyalty often shaped by upbringing, family, and community.

  2. Ideological Affinity: ID reflects underlying views on policy. For instance, the Democratic Party's shift from segregation to civil rights reflects evolving ideological alignment.

  3. Tally of Experiences: ID is a running record of how voters perceive party performance, especially regarding the economy and foreign policy.

• Trends in ID: Since the late $1980s$, the number of people identifying as "Independent" has increased, reaching $41\%$ in $2024$. Democrats and Republicans each held roughly $28\% - 30\%$ in $2024$.

GROUP-BASED PARTY SUPPORT

• Race and Ethnicity:

  • African Americans: $\approx 90\%$ identify as Democrats.

  • Whites: $\approx 55\%$ support the GOP; this is higher among those without college degrees ($2/3$ in $2016-2024$).

  • Latino/Hispanic: Diverse groups; Cubans historically Republican (though younger ones are shifting), while Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans favor Democrats.

• The Gender Gap: Women are more likely to support Democrats (the gap emerged in the $1980$ election).

• Religion:

  • Protestants: $42\%$ Republican, $25\%$ Democrat.

  • Jews ($54\%$ Dem) / Muslims ($39\%$ Dem): Strongly Democratic.

  • Atheists/Agnostics: $49\%$ Democratic.

  • Mormons: $47\%$ Republican.

• Class and Region:

  • Class: Lower-income voters tend toward Democrats; high-income toward Republicans. However, wealthy public sector/academic workers often lean Democratic.

  • Region: The "Solid South" of the past (Democratic) is now a Republican bastion. The Northeast and West Coast are Democratic strongholds. The Midwest remains a battleground.

EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN PARTY SYSTEMS

• First System ($1790-1824$): Federalists (Hamilton; Northeastern mercantile, pro-British) vs. Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson/Madison; Southern agrarian, pro-French).

• Second System ($1828-1856$): Democrats (Jackson; expansion of suffrage) vs. Whigs (Harrison; diverse opposition group favoring internal improvements). Faded over slavery issues.

• Third System ($1860-1896$): Republicans (Lincoln; anti-slavery, pro-North) vs. Democrats (Solid South, urban machines in the North). Introduction of the "Party Machine" and the spoils system.

• Fourth System ($1896-1932$): Republican dominance (McKinley/Hoover); business-oriented, low taxes, and high tariffs.

• Fifth System ($1932-1968$): New Deal Coalition (Roosevelt); unionized workers, intellectuals, Jews, Catholics, and Southern farmers. Collapsed due to Civil Rights and Vietnam.

• Sixth System ($1968-Present$): Realignment and polarization. Nixon's "Southern Strategy" and Reagan's inclusion of religious conservatives moved the South to the GOP. Characterized by ideologically homogeneous parties and the disappearance of moderate wings.

THIRD PARTIES

• Hurdles: The "winner-take-all" (plurality) system and single-member districts create high thresholds for victory. Most voters view a third-party vote as a "wasted vote."

• Role: They serve as vehicles for protest (Populists, Progressives). Successful third-party programs are often co-opted/absorbed by the two major parties.

• Duverger's Law: The observation that plurality-rule elections in single-member districts tend to produce two-party systems.

• 2024 Presidential Candidates: Harris (D), Trump (R), Chase Oliver (Libertarian), Jill Stein (Green). Third-party candidates polled only $0.8\%$ of the vote in $2024$.