What are the differences between Democrats and Republicans? A guide to the major US political parties
By Elissa Steedman
Topic:US Elections
The Democrats and the Republicans are the two major political parties in the US.
It's just one sleep until Americans go to the polls to decide their next president.
If you're new to the US political landscape or need a quick refresher, here's a guide to the major political parties in the US and their platforms.
What are the Republican and Democratic parties?
There are two major political parties in the US: the Democrats and the Republicans.
The Democrats are the liberal party and their candidate for president this election is Vice-President Kamala Harris.
They are represented by the colour blue and have a donkey as their mascot.
Democrats currently hold the US presidency and the majority in the Senate.
The Republicans are the conservative political party in the US and their candidate in this election is former president Donald Trump.
You might also hear the Republican Party referred to as the GOP.
That stands for Grand Old Party and is a bit like a nickname for the Republicans.
The party uses the colour red and has an elephant as their mascot.
What do left and right mean in politics?
Think of a scale with two ends.
The left side represents progressive thinking, and the right represents conservative policies.
Political parties are given positions on the scale as a way of describing how they think we should solve big issues in society.
So if a party pushes for more conservative policies, like the Republicans do, you'll find it somewhere to the right of the centre.
And a party that has more progressive policies, like the Democrats, can be found on the left.
What is the difference between progressive and conservative policies?
In simple terms, progressives push for change and conservatives want to keep things the way they are.
If we delve a little deeper, those on the left will argue it's the government's job to make society fairer, particularly by subsidising services people can't afford.
On the other hand, those on the right would say the government should have less influence over people's lives and leave it to businesses and society to solve problems like wages and medical care.
What is the far right?
This term is exactly what it sounds like — a political movement on the far right end of the political spectrum.
You might have also heard this way of thinking described as the alt-right or alternative right.
The term has white supremacist origins and refers to a group of people who don't support racial equality.
According to the Associated Press, "the movement criticises 'multiculturalism' and more rights for non-whites, women, Jews, Muslims and gays, immigrants and other minorities".
"Its members reject the American democratic ideal that all should have equality under the law regardless of creed, gender, ethnic origin or race," AP vice-president for Standards John Daniszewski says.
Where do the parties stand on key issues?
Abortion
Democrats: Women's access to abortion has been one of the Democratic Party's biggest platforms this election. Ms Harris says every women should have the right to a legal abortion and wants to protect women's right to abortions at a federal level.
She has said restrictions to abortion access are "immoral".
Republicans: Republicans have more varied opinions, ranging from wanting more restrictions around access to total bans.
Trump's position has been difficult to nail down.
When starting his political career, Trump once called himself "very pro-choice".
In March, he suggested support for a national ban on abortions from 15 weeks of pregnancy, but in April, walked that back to say it should be left up to each state to decide their laws.
And in October, Trump said he would veto a federal abortion ban.
Climate
Democrats: Democrats have backed initiatives like tax credits for renewable energy and electric vehicles.
In 2019, Ms Harris, supported the Green New Deal framework, which is a set of proposals that call for public policy to address climate change.
Republicans: Trump is less likely to support green policies.
He previously claimed climate change was a hoax and has put forward no climate policies during this campaign.
The former president has promised to reduce restrictions on drilling for fossil fuels (also known as fracking).
Gun laws
Democrats: Democrats want more gun safety laws, including better background checks for people buying guns.
During her term as vice-president, Ms Harris has repeatedly pushed for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines alongside President Joe Biden.
Republicans: The Republicans want less gun control and have promised to undo rules the Democrats signed in since Mr Biden has been in power.
The National Rifle Association (also known as the NRA) is the biggest gun rights advocacy group in the US and has endorsed Trump.
Healthcare
Democrats: Democrats have a history of pushing for social healthcare programs to lower the cost of prescription medicine and receiving medical care.
A major law passed by the Democrats is the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), which makes affordable health insurance available to more people.
Republicans: The Republicans want to get rid of that law and believe it should be left up to the healthcare industry to give Americans more affordable options.
Immigration
Immigration has become a major election issue this campaign. The debate has mostly focused on how to slow or stop undocumented migrants from entering the US through its southern border.
Democrats: Ms Harris opposes splitting up families where some members are in the country legally and others are not. She says she would allow the undocumented partners of US citizens to apply for green cards.
The vice-president was also supportive of a border reform bill aimed at cutting back the number of illegal border crossings, which both Democrats and Republicans had agreed to earlier this year.
But Republican senators later nixed the proposed law, saying they would rather have the issue be decided in the presidential election
Republicans: A hardline stance on immigration is one of Trump's key platforms this campaign.
Trump has promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants but neither he or JD Vance have outlined how they plan to achieve this.
The former president has also proposed imposing the death penalty on "any migrant" who kills a US citizen or law enforcement officer.
Taxes
While both parties have promised tax cuts, how they plan to go about it differs.
Democrats: Ms Harris is running on a platform of lower tax rates for middle income earners.
Democrats also support raising corporate tax and cracking down on tax avoidance.
Republicans: Trump is promising tax cuts across the board, including on tips earned by service workers.
The Middle East
Democrats: The Biden-Harris administration has maintained support of Israel since the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas.
Since then, the US has provided Israel with $17.9 billion in military aid.
Ms Harris has attempted to somewhat distance herself from Mr Biden's policies during the campaign, though.
She has raised the death toll on multiple occasions and skipped a speech to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited the US in July but met with him privately.
Republicans: Trump claims to be the most pro-Israel president in history — something he promised to be during the 2016 election campaign.
In 2018, he controversially moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, breaking decades of US foreign policy by recognising the city as the capital of Israel.
Trump met with Mr Netanyahu at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago during the prime minister's visit to the US in July.
War in Ukraine
Democrats: As vice-president, Ms Harris has been involved in Mr Biden's efforts to rally countries' support for Ukraine.
She has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seven times and announced $1.5 billion in aid for the embattled nation.
Republicans: Trump has said, if elected, he would bring an end to the war on his first day as president but hasn't said how.
The former president claims to have "very good relationships" with both Mr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
What are red, blue and purple states?
This ties back to the colours Democrats and Republicans use to represent themselves.
States are referred to as colours to describe which party is supported by most voters that live there.
That means voters in "blue" states prefer the Democrats and voters in "red" states tend to vote in favour of Republicans.
For example, California is considered a blue state and Texas is a red state.
This doesn't mean voters in those states have to, or will, vote in a certain way — they just tend to be more consistent when they head to the polls.
Purple states, also known as swing states or battleground states, are where there's no overwhelming preference for Democrats or Republicans.
How these states vote tends to be the deciding factor in who wins the election.
Which parties did famous presidents belong to?
Democrats
- John F Kennedy
- Bill Clinton
- Barack Obama
- Joe Biden
Republicans
- Abraham Lincoln
- Richard Nixon
- Ronald Reagan
- Donald Trump
Some other famous names you may know have had political careers with these parties.
Clint Eastwood ran as a Republican candidate to become the Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in California from 1986-1988.
The Republicans were also represented by action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger while he was governor of California from 2003-2011.
And Star Trek actor George Takei ran as a Democratic candidate for the Los Angeles City Council in 1973 and the California State Assembly in 1980.
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