Abstract
We begin this chapter by reviewing the literature that debates which elements make up a political party. While other scholars have touched on the importance of activists, no one has been able to satisfactorily define and measure their effect on the presidential nomination process. In a polarized general election environment, these activists play an important role in mobilizing the party electorate, and disunity almost inevitably dooms a party’s nominee in the general election. To better understand the role of the unity within the party, we utilize Masket’s idea of the party being a network. To be able to operationalize this at a national level, we look at activist as being shared donors between candidates in the presidential nomination process.
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Notes
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© 2013 Andrew Dowdle, Scott Limbocker, Song Yang, Karen Sebold, and Patrick A. Stewart
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Dowdle, A., Limbocker, S., Yang, S., Sebold, K., Stewart, P.A. (2013). Refining (and Redefining) the Party. In: The Invisible Hands of Political Parties in Presidential Elections: Party Activists and Political Aggregation from 2004 to 2012. Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318602_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318602_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, New York
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