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Gulati's Theories Of American Political Parties

Decent Essays

According to the Gulati “prominent theories of American political parties imply that higher levels of competition cause lawmakers to be more responsive to the center of public opinion. However, there are multiple problems of the moderation theory. First, the data from the article suggests that the opposite occurs. Moreover, the studies conducted in the article suggest that highly competitive districts influence candidates to appeal more to their partisan base rather than the center, and this is even more apparent in marginal states that lack political clout. Gulati states that “parties and candidates pursue a mobilization rather than the moderation strategy”. Competitive districts foster diverse constituencies and the politician takes a more

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