Post on 31-Dec-2015
transcript
CHAPTER 5 SECTION 5
Party Organization
Decentralized parties
Major parties (Democrat and Republican) are decentralized, or fragmented
National Level Party Elements
National ConventionNational committeeNational chairpersonCongressional campaign committees
National convention
Convenes every fourth year, the summer before the presidential election
Roles: nominates candidates for President and Vice President; adopts party rules and platform
Platform
Formal statement of basic principles, stands on major policy matters, and objectives for the campaign
National Committee
Meets between conventionsRole: mainly prepares for the next national
convention
National Chairperson
Selected for a 4-year termRoles: leads national committee, directs party
headquarters, works to strengthen the party
Congressional Campaign
Takes two years, during a terms of CongressRoles: works to reelect incumbents and to
unseat the other party’s incumbents in each house
Basic Components of the Party
Party organization – the party machinery’s leaders
Party in the electorate – those followers who usually vote for the party’s candidates
Party in government – the party’s officeholders
State and Local Party Structure
Usually set by state lawState – central committee headed by a
chairpersonLocal – varies widely; has party unit for each
district in which elections are heldDistricts include congressional and legislative
districts, counties, cities, towns, wards, and precinct.
Wards and precincts
Wards are small units of a cityPrecincts are subdivision of a ward
Decline of party strength
Parties have been in decline since the 1960sMore and more voters identify themselves as
independentsSplit-ticket voting, voting for candidates of
different parties in the same election, has increased.