United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parties and elections
Main articles: Politics of the United States and Political ideologies in the United States

President Obama meets with congressional leadership in 2011.^[286]
The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its history.^[287] For elective offices at most levels, state-administered primary elections choose the major party nominees for subsequent general elections. Since the general election of 1856, the major parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and the Republican Party, founded in 1854. Since the Civil War, only one third-party presidential candidate—former president Theodore Roosevelt, running as aProgressive in 1912—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote. The President and Vice-president are elected through the Electoral College system.^[288]
Within American political culture, the center-right Republican Party is considered "conservative" and the center-leftDemocratic Party is considered "liberal".^[289][290] The states of the Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "blue states", are relatively liberal. The "red states" of the South and parts of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are relatively conservative.
The winner of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Democrat Barack Obama, is the 44th, and current, U.S. president. Current leadership in the Senate includes Democratic Vice President Joseph Biden, Republican President Pro Tempore (Pro Tem) Orrin Hatch, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Minority Leader Harry Reid.^[291] Leadership in the House includes Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.^[292]
In the 114th United States Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate are controlled by the Republican Party. The Senate currently consists of 54 Republicans, and 44 Democrats with two independents who caucus with the Democrats; the House consists of 246 Republicans and 188 Democrats, with one vacancy.^[293] In state governorships, there are 31 Republicans, 18 Democrats and one independent.^[294] Among the DC mayor and the 5 territorial governors, there are 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats (one is also in the PPD), and 2 Independents.^[295]