Who are the main US political parties?
The two main US political parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Republicans
The Republican Party or the Republicans is the USA’s 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 causes 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 also tended to marginally favour Trump over Biden.
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: 鶹Լ 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’s 213 congressmen and women.(Source: 鶹Լ 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’ 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 “liberals”.
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: 鶹Լ 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’s 49 Senators.