Activists, Funders, Voters GOVT 2306, Module 5

Party Coalition Building The goal of a political party is to win office. To achieve its goal, a party tries to build a winning coalition that includes funders, activists, and voters. In a democracy, the latter are the most important because votes determine who holds office. Funders and activists are critical as well because they supply the money and energy needed to assemble a winning coalition of voters. A party without funds and activists probably won’t have many voters.

funders

Party Funders Democrats Republicans Trial lawyers are the single largest source of funding support for the Texas Democratic Party and individual Democratic candidates. Labor unions, wealthy liberal activists, and some business people support Democrats as well. Business interests and wealthy individual conservatives supply most of the money for the Texas Republican Party and its candidates.

Funding Balance Although Republicans typically have more money than their opponents, most Democrats in competitive races have enough money to get their message across. In 2014, for example, Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for governor, raised and spent $36 million compared with $47 million by Republican Greg Abbott.

activists

activists Labor union members, environmentalists, minority rights activists, and government workers make up the activist base of the Democratic Party. Christian conservatives and Tea Party activists supply the energy for the Republican Party. Why are activists important? What do they do?

voters

2014 Governor’s Race Gregg Abbott Wendy Davis 2,780,227 votes (59.3 percent) 1,832,254 votes (38.9 percent)

2014 exit polls--gender Category Abbott Davis Male (49 %) 66 % 32 % Female (51 %) 54 % 45 % What is the significance of the percentages in the category column? Those percentages show the ratio of men to women in the electorate.

Age Category Abbott Davis 18-29 (14 %) 49 % 30-44 (27 %) 47 % 45-64 (41 %) 67 % 32 % 65 and over (19 %) 69 % 29 %

Race/ethnicity Category Abbott Davis White (66%) 72 % 25 % African-American (12 %) 7 % 92 % Latino (17 %) 44 % 55 % Who is under-represented in the electorate? Who is over-represented? Latinos are under-represented. Whites are over-represented.

Ideology Category Abbott Davis Liberal (18%) 17 % 83 % Moderate (38 %) 49 % 48 % Conservative (44 %) 87 % 11 %

Party ID Category Abbott Davis Democrat (27 %) 7 % 92 % Independent (35 %) 62 % 33 % Republican (38 %) 96 % 3 %

Income Category Abbott Davis Less than $50 K (32 %) 49 % $50 K – 100 K (32 %) 60 % 39 % More than $100 K (36 %) 65 % 32 %

Quiz Greg Abbott did best with which of the following racial/ethnic groups? Whites African Americans Latinos Abbott did equally as well with all three of the above groups. The answer is A.

Size of Place Category Abbott Davis Urban (53 %) 55 % 42 % Suburban (38 %) 62 % 36 % Rural (9 %) 77 % 23 %

Region Category Abbott Davis East (12 %) 76 % 24 % DFW (24 %) 55 % 44 % Houston (23 %) South Central (17 %) 48 % 45 % West (11 %) 77 % 19 % Rio Grande Valley (13 %) 59 % 40 %

2014 election results map Blue is Davis. Red is Abbott.

Marital status Category Abbott Davis Married (65 %) 65 % 32 % Unmarried (35 %) 47 % 50 %

White evangelical or born-again Christian Category Abbott Davis Yes (32 %) 84 % 13 % No (68 %) 48 % 50 %

Quiz Which of the following counties did Wendy Davis carry in last fall’s election? Harris Tarrant Dallas All of the above The answer is C.

What We Have Learned Who are the principle funders of the Texas Democratic and Republican Parties Who are the activists of the Texas Democratic and Republican Parties? In which areas of the state was Greg Abbott strongest in 2014? In which areas was Wendy Davis strongest? Which groups of Texas voters tend to back Democratic candidates? Which groups of Texas voters tend to back Republican candidates?