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Lecture 8: Elections and Campaigns

LCHS AP GOVERNMENT. Lecture 8: Elections and Campaigns. Party Systems. Party systems: The number of political parties within a democracy Their relative size and ideology In the context of American politics: the coalitions that constitute the two major political parties.

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Lecture 8: Elections and Campaigns

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  1. LCHS AP GOVERNMENT Lecture 8: Elections and Campaigns

  2. Party Systems • Party systems: • The number of political parties within a democracy • Their relative size and ideology • In the context of American politics: the coalitions that constitute the two major political parties

  3. Elections within Party Systems • Maintaining: the dominant party wins • Deviating: the dominant party loses a short term • Realigning: a major rearrangement of the party coalitions

  4. Realigning Elections (Burnham) • Happens about once a generation, every 32 years. • Are like a political earthquake • Voter turnout rises • Third parties are active • End result is new party coalitions

  5. The New Deal Coalition • 1928: Democrats are first to nominate a Catholic (Al Smith) as a presidential candidate • FDR’s New Deal program built a new coalition of Southern Democrats with Catholics and minorities/poor.

  6. The Sixth Party System Sixth party system (1968-present) Democrats vs. Republicans • Realignment: Democrats embraced Civil Rights fractured the New Deal coalition, changing nature of Southern politics as Southern, Evangelical Protestants and Catholics moved towards the Republican Party. • Dealignment: The growth of independents (if you count independent leaner's as independents) shows a disintegration of the two political parties. • Are we on the verge of a seventh party system?

  7. The Current Party System:2008 Presidential Exit Poll http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p1 • Income • Occupation • Education • Region • Religion • Race • Gender

  8. Where Partisans Stand on the Issues • Government spending • Role of government in providing a good standard of living • Race • Defense spending • Abortion • Ideology

  9. The Southern Realignment • For federal offices, • Bush won all southern states in 2000 (setting aside FL) and 2004. • Reps control a solid majority of Senate and House seats. • This changes in 2008 • (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/) • State offices • Republicans control governors in the “Deep South,” Democrats control AR, NC, TN, WV, VA • Democrats still retain control of some state legislative chambers even in the Deep South, such as the AL House and Senate, and the MS House.

  10. Why Do Democrats Cling to Office in the South? • Some whites are still Democrats. To win, Democrats need about 1/3 of the white vote plus all the black vote. • State parties and candidates can be different than national parties and candidates. When Republican candidates are too conservative, conservative Democrats can win. • Still an uphill climb for Democrats.

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