List of political parties in the United States
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This is a list of political parties in the United States, both past and present.
Parties with federal representation
Current United States Congressional seats
| Political Parties | House of Representatives | Senate |
|---|---|---|
| Republican Party | 235 | 51 |
| Democratic Party | 193 | 47 |
| Independent | 0 | 2 |
Congressional leadership of the House of Representatives
| Position | Representative |
| Speaker of the House | Paul Ryan (R) |
| Majority Leader | Kevin McCarthy (R) |
| Minority Leader | Nancy Pelosi (D) |
Congressional leadership of the Senate
| Position | Senator |
|---|---|
| President of the Senate | Mike Pence (R) |
| President Pro Tempore | Orrin Hatch (R) |
| Majority Leader | Mitch McConnell (R) |
| Minority Leader | Chuck Schumer (D) |
The Vice President of the United States has the additional duty of President of the Senate. It is the Vice President's duty as President of the Senate to cast a tie-breaking vote in the event that "they be equally divided"—an equal number of Senators voting both for and against a motion.
Parties with state representation
| Political Parties | State Lower Chamber Seats | State Upper Chamber Seats | Governorships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 2,339 | 804 | 15 |
| Republican Party | 3,047 | 1,158 | 34 |
| Vermont Progressive Party | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Libertarian Party | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Green Party[1][2][3] | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Working Families Party | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Independence Party of New York | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Independent | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| Vacant | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 5,411 | 1,972 | 50 |
Major political parties
Per Merriam-Webster, a major party has "electoral strength sufficient to permit it to win control of a government usually with comparative regularity and when defeated to constitute the principal opposition to the party in power."[4] In the United States, only the Democratic and Republican parties meet this definition.
| Political Party | Founded in | Former Titles | International Affiliations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 1828 | Progressive Alliance[5] | |
| Republican Party | 1854 | International Democrat Union[6] |
Minor political parties
This listing of minor parties does not include independents.
Regional parties
These parties are based only in states or certain regions and rarely, if ever, offer candidates for national offices. These are all parties that are unaffiliated with national parties. Each state has official state chapters of the major parties as well as some of the minor parties.
Alaska
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Hawaii
Michigan
Minnesota
- Ecology Democracy Party
- Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party
- Independence Party of Minnesota
- Legal Marijuana Now Party
Maryland
New York
- Conservative Party of New York State
- Independence Party of New York
- Liberal Party of New York
- New York State Right to Life Party
- Rent Is Too Damn High Party
- Serve America Movement
- Tax Revolt Party of Nassau County*
- Women's Equality Party
- Working Families Party of New York*
Northern Mariana Islands
Ohio
- Charter Party (Cincinnati only)
Oregon
- Constitution Party of Oregon
- Independent Party of Oregon
- Oregon Progressive Party
- Socialist Party of Oregon
- Working Families Party of Oregon
Puerto Rico
- Sovereign Union Movement, (Movimiento Unión Soberanista)
- New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico, also translated New Party for Progress of Puerto Rico (Partido Nuevo Progresista de Puerto Rico)
- Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, (Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico)
- Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party, (Partido por Puerto Rico)
- Puerto Rican Independence Party, (Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño)
- Working People's Party of Puerto Rico, (Partido del Pueblo Trabajador)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Utah
U.S. Virgin Islands
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
- Progressive Dane (Dane County only)
Virginia
Historical parties
- The following parties are no longer functioning.
Non-electoral organizations
These organizations do not nominate candidates for election but otherwise function similarly to political parties. Some of them have nominated candidates in the past.
See also
- Political parties in the United States
- List of frivolous political parties
- List of political parties by country
- List of political parties in Puerto Rico
- List of state Constitution Parties in the U.S.
- List of state parties of the Democratic Party U.S.
- List of state Green Parties in the U.S.
- List of state Libertarian Parties in the U.S.
- List of state parties of the Republican Party U.S.
- Party system
- Political party strength in U.S. states
- Politics of the United States
- Third party (United States)
- Two-party system
References
- ^ Cousins, Christopher (September 22, 2017). "Lawmaker's party switch gives Greens a seat in the Maine House". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ "Second state representative enrolls Green Independent". Maine Green Independent Party. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ Sukharev, Nickolai (November 21, 2018). "Outgoing delegate switches to Green Party". Montgomery County Sentinel. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "major party". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Parties & Organisations - Political Parties and Associated Partners of the Progressive Alliance". Progressive Alliance. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Members". International Democrat Union. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Note: See United States third-party and independent presidential candidates, 2016#Summary for summary chart and references
- ^ "Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. January 30, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help)
Further reading
- Nash, Howard P., Jr.; Schnapper, M. B. (1959). Third Parties in American Politics.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Ness, Immanuel; Ciment, James (2000). The Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America. Armonk, NY, U.S.A.: Sharpe Reference. ISBN 0-7656-8020-3.
External links
- Party Links
- Political Parties Timeline
- Ballot Access News
- Politics1 Directory of Candidates
- Independent Political Candidate Directory at IndeCan
- Educational quiz that matches policy answers to U.S. political parties
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