Parties and the President

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Parties and the President

1. Prospects for Independent presidents
2. Parties as resources for and constraints on
   presidents

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Why two political parties

• Single member, plurality districts
• Electoral college
• Ballot Access Restrictions
• Campaign Finance Laws
• Voter loyalty
• Hard to raise money
• Hard to get media attention
• Hard to recruit strong candidates

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Do third party presidential candidates stand a
chance?
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Year Presidential Candidate Party PV EC
1848 Van Buren Free Soil 10 0
1856 Fillmore Whig-American 21 8
1860 Breckinridge Southern Democrat 18 0
1860 Bell Constitutional Union 12 39
1892 Weaver Populist 8 22
1912 TR Progressive 27 88
1924 LaFollette Progressive 16 13
1948 Thurmond Dixiecrat 2 39
1968 Wallace American Independent 13 46
1980 Anderson Independent 6 0
1992 Perot Reform 19 0
1996 Perot Reform 8 0
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Significant Nader votes, 2000
State (EV) Nader of vote of votes separating Bush and Gore
FL (25) 1.63 .01
NM (5) 3.55 .06
IA (7) 2.23 .32
OR (7) 5.04 .44
WI (11) 3.62 .22
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Party as Constraint

• The nomination process
• Beholden to whom?
• Members of Congress
• Party bosses/activists
• Party Identifiers
• Donors, elected officials, and identifiers?

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Party as Constraint

• Beholden to the party to the degree they get him
  elected
• 19th century More beholden
• 20th century Less beholden
• Campaign finance rules limit relationship

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Party as resource

• Support in the electorate

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Party identifiers in the electorate
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Party as resource

• Support in the electorate
• Support among members of Congress

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Presidents Average Legislative Success
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Party as resource

• Support in the electorate
• Support among members of Congress
• (Depends on unity of party)

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