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US political systemWho are the main US political parties?

The US political system is based on the country's constitution. Power is separated into different branches of government to ensure no-one has too much power. The Republicans and Democrats are the two main political parties.

Part of Modern StudiesWorld power: USA

Who are the main US political parties?

The two main US political parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Graphic of two columns. One showing traits of Republicans and the other showing traits of Democrats.

Republicans

The Republican Party or the Republicans is the USA鈥檚 oldest political party and is economically conservative . Traditionally it stands for business, small government and low taxation.

The Republican Party has a strong support base among White Christian voters, many of whom disagree with liberal鈥痗auses such as abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Many Republican Party voters are found in the central states of the US/Mid-west (e.g. Iowa, Montana, or Nebraska) and the South of the US in states such as Texas, Mississippi, or Louisiana.

Older voters tend to marginally favour the Republican party.

In the 2020 US presidential elections, the then Republican President Donald Trump lost to his Democratic Party rival Joe Biden. However, Trump won more of the vote from white, older voters than Biden. (Source: 大象传媒 News).

After the 2022 mid-term US elections, the Republican Party took control of the House of Representatives with 222 congressmen and women to the Democratic Party鈥檚 213 congressmen and women. (Source: 大象传媒 News).

Democrats

The Democratic Party, or the Democrats, are in general more liberal on social issues such as rights for minorities, abortion and assistance for the poor. Economically, Democrats are more likely to believe in a bigger role for government in the economy, for example in providing health insurance.

The trade unions in America are a strong base of support for the Democrats, who are more likely to support workers鈥 rights and issues such as the national minimum wage.

Americans who are environmentalists, anti-war, support a woman's right to choose abortion or support same-sex marriage, are termed 鈥渓iberals鈥.

At the 2020 US Presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden received more votes from women, minority groups (87% of Black Americans voted for Biden), younger voters and those with higher education levels than did Republican Trump. (Source: 大象传媒 News)

States with large cities like New York tend to have more Democratic Party supporters, as do the New England states. Democrat support is also very strong in the West of the US in states such as California, Oregon and Washington State.

After the 2022 mid-term US elections, the Democratic Party took outright control of the US Senate returning 51 of the Senators to the Republican Party鈥檚 49 Senators.

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