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.