⇒ USA has a 2 party system, where 2 major parties regularly win the vast majority of votes in general elections, regularly capture nearly all of the seats in the legislature and alternately control the executive branch of government

• In last 13 Presidential elections, the democrats and the republicans accounted for more than 80% of the popular vote on each occasion
• In Congress, only 2 Senators are independent and only 1 seat in the House is independent

Reasons:

⇒ Winner takes all system makes life difficult for national 3rd parties - normally 3rd parties have widespread shallow support

⇒ The 2 main parties can both be described as umbrella parties

⇒ Primaries make the major parties more responsive to the electorate, minimising the need for protest votes which would go to 3rd parties

However:

⇒ The USA has a 50 party system as the individual state parties are organisationally autonomous and ideologically varied

⇒ Many modern-day Americans are more likely to join a group (TEA party) than a party

⇒ Mark Shields: "as of today the country has 2 republican parties, separated by the issue of abortion"

⇒ 3rd parties do impact Presidential campaigns as they can take votes away from the main parties (e.g. in Florida in 2016, the 3rd party candidates had 290,000 votes)

⇒ In 2000 Ralph Nader got 2.7% of the vote, scuppering Al Gore and making him lose to Bush

⇒ 3rd party policies affect the main parties - in 1992 Perot had his budget policy stolen and implemented by the Republicans

⇒ Winner-takes-all makes it hard for them to win (Ross Perot got 19% of the vote in 1992 but no Elector College Votes)

⇒ State ballot access laws - in some states it's easier than others to get your name on the ballot e.g. in Tennessee you have to get 25 signatures on a petition to get your name on the ballot, but in California you have to get 1% of the electorate)

⇒ There is Lack of media coverage for third parties and they are only focused on if they make a mistake e.g. when Gary Johnson said "What's Aleppo?"

⇒ Third parties have less money - Hillary Clinton spent $1.4 billion in 2016 whereas Gary Johnson only spent $12 million

⇒ Ideology - the main parties are umbrellas encompassing a wide supporter base (this leads to independents like Bernie Sanders running for one of the two main parties)

⇒ Now check out our notes on the Democratic party and the Republican party

⇒ Also check out our notes on partisanship and party organisation