Political Parties

Political parties are groups of people that are organized based on their political beliefs and goals. In some cases, political parties are large powerful organizations that run much of the government.

• In the United States there are two main political parties: Democrats and Republicans. These two parties run much of the government. Because these two parties are so powerful, the United States government is often called a "two-party system."  Some would refer to this as a Duopoly because they are the main political parties and they run the government.
• The elections in a two-party system are often held in two phases. The first phase is the primary election. In the primary election each party elects a candidate to represent their party. The next phase is called the general election. In the general election, the public votes between the winners of the primary election.
  
  

 

Video Resource: Review the videos below to learn about the core beliefs of the political parties. Take notes to compare and contrast the core beliefs using a Venn Diagram. 

 

 

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