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Two parties dominate the political system in the United States. At every level of government, almost all elected officials belong to either the Democratic Party or the Republican

Party.

Political scientists call this reality the two-party

system.

The two-party system is not a requirement under the U.S. Constitution. But there have only been two major parties in nearly all of U.S. history.

The two major parties in the United States operate at several levels. Each party has a large national organization, as well as smaller organizations operating in each state. Read the following table describing the purposes of national parties. Then follow the instructions below.

Purposes of a national party	Explanation
Nominating candidates	Parties seek out candidates to run for office. Parties can influence the success of these candidates by directing campaign funding and deciding requirements for participating in debates.
Developing a platform	A platform is a document that describes the party's stance on issues. It is written to attract support in the next election from like-minded voters.
Influencing government	When new leaders take office, they can decide who to hire for many government jobs in their departments. Leaders often choose members from their own party who share the same beliefs about how government should be run.

The examples below describe some actions that parties can take. Using the table above, decide which purpose each action serves.

Action	Nominating candidates	Developing a platform	Influencing government
A Republican governor selects other Republicans to staff the executive branch and help fulfill policy goals.
Delegates at the Democratic National Convention adopt a list of goals to show the party's values and policy priorities.
Leaders at the Republican National Committee ask a popular state senator to enter the race for governor.
The Democratic National Committee decides that only candidates who poll at 1% or above can participate in debates.

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