National Party Structure Today

National Party Structure Both Republicans and Democrats have similar organizational structures A brief introduction… National Convention A meeting of party delegates to nominate presidential candidate National Committee Chosen at convention to run party affairs for next 4 years National Chairperson Day-to-day party manager elected by the national committee

Differences RNC moved to bureaucratic structure Well-financed Used technology to raise $$ Created national firm of political consultants Democrats were factionalized And lost because of it Learned from Republicans and caught up

National Convention Officially nominate party’s presidential candidate Not that important…only ratify choices made in primary Develop party platform Formulas used to allocate delegates to the conventions (vary from state to state) and rules have changes a lot Democrats reward large states Republicans reward loyal states Democrats also have superdelegates – elected officials; don’t have to commit to a candidate beforehand, therefore can vote for any despite the primary 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 a superdegelate!

National Chairperson Selected by party’s presidential candidate Serves as spokesperson for the party Establishes national headquarters, raises campaign funds, etc. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrats Reince Priebus, Republicans

State Party Structure Real strength and power of a national party is at the state level No “average” state party structure 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 Party Organization The Political Machine Recruits members via tangible incentives/rewards Ideological Parties Principle is more important than winning elections Ex. Socialist Solidary Groups Members motivated by social/personal incentives Sponsored Parties Created or sustained by another organization Ex. Democratic ties to unions Personal Following Political support provided to candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks Ex. Kennedys

The Two-Party System Rare Why has it endured? Electoral System: Winner-take-all Opinions of voters: 2 broad coalitions work and balance each other, also “wasting” vote on 3rd party State and federal laws make it hard for 3rd parties to break through

Minor Parties Ideological parties- comprehensive radical view Most enduring Ex. Socialist, Communist, Libertarian One-issue parties- address one concern, avoid others Ex. Free Soil, Know-Nothing, Prohibition Economic protest parties- regional, protest economy Ex. Greenback, Populist Factional parties- from split in major party, usually over pres. Nominee Ex. Bull Moose, Henry Wallace Democrats, American Independent Party

Impact of Minor Parties Develop ideas that major parties later adopt Influence public policy Affect outcomes of elections?