Party Organization Political Parties

How do political parties operate? Organization How do political parties operate?

Party Organization Political Parties

Party Organization Organization Party Organization The people who work for and run the political party 100 Party in the Electorate The people who support the party by voting for it Party in Government The party members who won their elections and hold offices in government

Party Organization Organization National State Local Organize the parties at the national level – try to coordinate state parties 100 State Prepare the parties for state wide elections Local Operate at the county or city level

Party Organization Organization National Party Organization They run the party between national conventions They organize the national party conventions 100 They make the party platform for national elections They attempt to organize the state primaries for election season They coordinate national communication strategy day to day

Party Organization Organization Democratic Party Democratic National Committee is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities They focus on campaign and organizational strategy instead of policy goals 100 Democratic Party DNC is made up of chairs and vice chairs of each state Democratic party The Chairperson of the DNC is elected by its members & is currently Tom Perez

DNC sets rules for caucuses and primaries Party Organization Organization Democratic Party DNC sets rules for caucuses and primaries DNC decides when, and what type of primary debate activities will occur 100 The DNC also works hard to raise money for election season and allocates it to the places where the party can win

Party Organization Organization Republican Party Republican National Committee is responsible for promoting campaign activities of Republicans RNC develops the party platform as well as coordinating fund raising 100 Republican Party They supervise the Republican National Convention The current chairperson is Ronna Romney McDaniel

Primary Systems Political Parties

Party Organization Primary Frontloading States may decide to hold their primaries earlier in the season to capitalize on the media attention This can be helpful to political parties because they may decide on a candidate earlier in the year This may help the party minimize party infighting during the primary season. The party can focus on the opposition earlier instead of rifts inside the party.

Republicans use this method in some states Party Organization Primary Winner Take All In a winner take all primary, the person who gets the most votes in the primary gets ALL of the delegates Republicans use this method in some states This gives disproportionate support to the candidates winning the elections and gives nothing to those in second place and below

Party Organization Primary Winner Take All This can help establish a front runner early in the primary season After the first few states, one candidate may have a massive delegate lead This might cause those with less support in the early states drop out of the race This can make some states WAY more important to win than others.

Party Organization Primary Winner Take All By settling on a nominee earlier, they can minimize the “fighting” between members of their own party The party can unify earlier behind the candidate and focus on the Democrat This might make the party look better to voters, or at least, they may have minimized negative attacks against their candidate

Party Organization Primary Superdelegates Superdelegates are used only by Democrats – they have their own vote at the national convention All DNC members are superdelegates Current Democrat governors & members of Congress are superdelegates Distinguished party leaders: old presidents & VPs, congressional leaders, & old DNC chairs are superdelegates for life

Party Organization Primary Superdelegates This gives party leadership SOME role in choosing the nominee Their votes would only matter in a very close primary race where no candidate gets the majority of delegates by themselves Superdelegates typically announce their support early – creating a bit of a bandwagon effect among voters. They are not officially pledged until the national party convention

State Party Organizations Political Parties

Party Organization State Level Parties State Party Organizations They organize and prepare for state level elections. They will decide who the Electoral College delegates are for their states They will decide if their party will have a primary or a caucus They will decide when their state’s primary or caucus will be held

Party Organization State Level Parties State Party Organizations They adapt to their citizens and their stances on issues. They are not controlled by the national party – even on policy Democrats in some places may be more conservative than in other states Republicans in some places may be more liberal than in other states

Party Organization State Level Parties State Party Organizations The state parties send representatives to the national parties The national parties are just a loose alliance of all the state parties State parties do what’s best to win state elections, even if that means they go against something the national party does.

Party Organization State Level Parties Local Party Organizations The local parties are organized at the county or municipality level They organize and prepare for local elections. They play a much greater role in voter mobilization than the state or national party They have to perform all the same roles as the national and state parties - fund raising, advertising, finding candidates

Party Organization State Level Parties Local Party Organizations City level parties were the organizations that became party machines At the local level they could give away jobs by patronage in return for loyalty The party bosses – the mayors – used their control of jobs and services to reward party loyalty

Party Organization State Level Parties Local Party Organizations Some cities choose individuals instead of elect by party These are called nonpartisan elections. All candidates are essentially running as independents but the parties may endorse their desired candidate. This happens in cities – like Memphis – where the overwhelming majority of voters may be Democratic voters.

Party Conventions Political Parties

Party Organization National Convention Nominating Conventions They used to be the place where the delegates actually met and decided on the party’s nominee Over recent decades they have really become glorified pep rallies They give the parties a week of media attention and basically free commercials on news networks for their nominees

Nominating Conventions Party Organization National Convention Nominating Conventions The delegates have already been committed to vote for candidates based on primaries and caucuses The nominee has likely been apparent for months by the time of the convention The one non ceremonial task of the party at the convention is to decide on the party platform. Party members from all around the country will debate and decide on the party’s stances on issues

Nominating Conventions Party Organization National Convention Nominating Conventions The platform is settled and is officially announced for voters. They can see where the party stands on every issue The nominee is officially announced after official voting from the delegates The “keynote address” is a high profile speech given by an old “party hero” or an up and coming young leader Other high profile speeches are given each night by the candidate’s spouse, running made, and the candidate

Bigly Ideas Beliefs & Behaviors

Party Organization Wrap Up Party Organization Superdelegates State Party Freedom Superdelegates National Convention Focus on these things: