1. Minor Parties

2. Types of Minor Parties Protest Party (Economic Protest Party)
Ex: Greenback Party & Populist Party
Single Issue Party- focus on 1 issue
Ex: Free Soil Party, Know Nothings
Ideological Party- based on belief
Ex: Socialists, Communist, Green Party
Splinter Parties- split off of a party
Ex: Bull Moose and American Independent Party

3. Why Minor Parties? 1. Play a Spoiler Role in elections
Split the Vote
Bull Moose Party 1912 & Perot in 1992
Articulate new ideas that the major parties will at some point will take on.
Perot push for a balance budget in 92
Pushed major parties to a budget agreement
Railroad & Banking Regulations, Women Suffrage, and Old Age Pension

4. Party organization

5. The Major Parties Decentralized Fragmented
Filled with internal squabbling
Neither party has a chain of command from national to state
State’s parties are tied loosely tied to the national parties
More than half a million of elected officials

6. Role of the President Automatic leader of the political party
Access to media, popularity and makes appointments of federal offices
No one person leads the other party
Multiple people are seen in the other party

7. Nominating Process Leads to a decentralization
1. Candidate selection is an intraparty process
Nomination made within the party
2. Nominating process is a divisive
Fight in the party over the nomination

8. Elements of the Nat. Party
1. National Convention
2. National Committee
3. National Chairperson
4. Congressional Campaign Committees

9. National Convention Party’s national voice
Meets in the summer of presidential election
Pick President & Vice President Candidates
Adopt party rules and party platform

10. National Committee
Party’s affairs are done by the committee and the chair
Committee may seem to have a lot of power
Stage the convention every 4 years

11. National Chairperson Leader of the National Committee
Chosen for a 4 year term
Direct the work of the party’s headquarters and its staff
Election Years: focus on the convention and the campaign
Between elections: raise money, promote party unity and recruit new voters

12. State Organizations
State Central Committee headed by a State chairperson
Chairperson tied to the governor, senator or another political leader
Build party unity, raise money, find candidates, and building organizations

13. Local Organization
Party Units for each district in which elective offices are to be filled
Counties, Cities, towns, wards, and precincts
Larger cities residential blocks
Party’s active year round

14. Party’s have 3 Components
Interrelated Components
The Party Organization (party leaders and activists)
The Party in the Electorate (people who vote for the party)
The Party in Government (currently in office)

15. Major Party’s Future Party’s have been in decline since 60’s
5 Reasons for their problems
Drop in number of voters
Increase in split-ticket voting
Internal conflict through reform/changes
Technology changes for campaigning
Growth of single issue organizations