Divisions and supporters within the parties | Edexcel A-Level Politics
Updated: 3 days ago
For Specification 9PL0
Edexcel A-Level Politics | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time:Â 55 minutes
The Democratic and Republican parties are broad political coalitions rather than completely united ideological organisations. These Divisions and supporters within the parties A-Level Politics revision notes examine the liberal, moderate and conservative tendencies within the Democrats, and the moderate, social conservative and fiscal conservative tendencies within the Republicans. You will also examine how the influence of factions can change over time and how race, religion, gender and education can help explain presidential voting patterns. This develops your understanding of party ideas [Democratic and Republican Party ideas] and prepares you for analysing wider political influence through interest groups [Interest groups].
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define a political faction and explain why the major US parties contain competing tendencies.
Explain the liberal, moderate and conservative tendencies identified within the Democratic Party.
Explain the moderate, social conservative and fiscal conservative tendencies identified within the Republican Party.
Analyse how the power and influence of factions within the major parties can change.
Explain why race, religion, gender and education must be considered when analysing presidential voting behaviour.
Apply knowledge of party divisions and voter coalitions to examination questions about political parties and presidential elections.
Revision Notes đź“š
Divisions and supporters within the parties A-Level Politics revision: specification focus
Edexcel requires students to study the current conflicts and tendencies and the changing power and influence that exist within the parties.
The specification identifies:
Democratic Party
liberals
moderates
conservatives
Republican Party
moderates
social conservatives
fiscal conservatives
Students must also study each party's coalition of supporters, examining how the following factors are likely to influence voting patterns and why in relation to one presidential election campaign since 2000:
race
religion
gender
education
This lesson therefore builds directly on Democratic and Republican Party ideas [Democratic and Republican Party ideas] and links to the electoral processes studied in Presidential elections.
What is a faction?
Edexcel defines factions as groups that make up political parties. These may include:
ideological wings
particular age groups
occupational groups
citizens particularly concerned about certain issues
A political party can therefore contain people who support the same broad party while disagreeing considerably over particular issues.
This is important in US politics because the major parties can operate as broad coalitions.
The 2021 mark scheme explicitly states that the parties are broad coalitions and may therefore include groups such as liberal Republicans or conservative Democrats.
This means:
shared party identity does not require complete ideological agreement
Why do divisions within parties matter?
Internal divisions can affect:
party unity
the policies supported by individual politicians
voting behaviour in Congress
presidential leadership of a party
election campaigns
how easily a party presents a coherent political programme
Examiner materials note that factions may affect how members of Congress vote and that US parties are relatively loose coalitions rather than organisations whose members are always strongly bound by one ideology.This is a useful reminder that the broad policies covered in Democratic and Republican Party ideas [Democratic and Republican Party ideas] are tendencies, not positions automatically held by every party member.
Divisions within the Democratic Party
The specification identifies three Democratic tendencies:
liberals
moderates
conservatives
These groups exist within the wider Democratic framework studied previously, which broadly includes:
progressive attitudes to social and moral issues
greater government intervention in the economy
government provision of social welfare
What the supplied examiner material does establish is that Democrats should not be treated as ideologically identical.
For example, the 2021 mark scheme recognises the existence of conservative Democrats, demonstrating that individuals within the party may adopt positions differing from its broad national tendency.
Democratic liberals
Liberals are explicitly identified by Edexcel as one of the tendencies within the Democratic Party.
For examination purposes, the essential distinction is that liberals form one ideological tendency within the Democratic coalition rather than representing every Democrat.
Democratic moderates
Moderates form a second Democratic tendency identified in the specification.
Their existence is important because it demonstrates that the party contains members who cannot simply be treated as belonging to one uniform ideological position.
Conservative Democrats
Edexcel also explicitly identifies conservatives within the Democratic Party.
This is particularly useful for challenging the assumption that:
Democrat = automatically liberal on every issue.
The 2021 mark scheme specifically refers to conservative Democrats when explaining why US political parties do not always vote together.
The significance is clear:
broad party coalition → ideological variation within the party → individual Democrats may sometimes diverge from the wider party position
This can have consequences for congressional voting and party unity.
Divisions within the Republican Party
The specification identifies three Republican tendencies:
moderates
social conservatives
fiscal conservatives
These operate within the wider Republican principles studied previously, including:
conservative attitudes on social and moral issues
more restricted government intervention in the economy
protection of American trade and jobs
acceptance of welfare combined with greater emphasis on personal responsibility
The existence of separate social and fiscal conservative tendencies is particularly important because political conservatism does not have to focus on exactly the same issues.
Republican moderates
Moderates are explicitly identified within the Republican coalition.
Their inclusion in the specification demonstrates that the Republican Party cannot simply be treated as uniformly conservative in exactly the same way on every policy question.
Their examination significance lies chiefly in demonstrating ideological diversity within the party.
Social conservatives
Edexcel specifically identifies social conservatives as one Republican tendency.
The specification also defines the religious right, which generally supports the Republican Party.
It describes the religious right as an ultraconservative religious movement seeking to translate its beliefs into public policy, including through:
promotion of family values
opposition to abortion
opposition to the Roe v Wade judgment
opposition to same-sex marriage and civil partnerships
opposition to non-discrimination legislation
The specification does not state that all social conservatives belong to the religious right, so these terms should not be treated as interchangeable.
However, the religious right provides an important example of the type of socially conservative political influence associated with Republican politics.
Fiscal conservatives
Fiscal conservatives form the third Republican tendency specified by Edexcel.
The wider Republican policy profile does include:
more restricted government intervention in the national economy
an emphasis on personal responsibility within welfare
but the provided material does not explicitly state that every such position should be attributed specifically to the fiscal-conservative faction.
⚠️ Exam technique: Do not invent detailed faction policies simply because the labels appear familiar. Use only distinctions you can substantiate.
Comparing the internal tendencies
The specification requires you to understand the existence and changing influence of different tendencies rather than presenting either party as completely unified.
Democratic Party | Republican Party |
Liberals | Moderates |
Moderates | Social conservatives |
Conservatives | Fiscal conservatives |
Broad coalition containing different ideological positions | Broad coalition containing different ideological priorities |
The important conceptual point is:
party membership → does not automatically determine identical ideology → factions can compete for influence
This helps explain why individual politicians may sometimes oppose members of their own party.
Changing power and influence within parties
Edexcel does not simply require you to name factions. You need to examine their changing power and influence.
This means asking:
Which tendencies are becoming more influential?
Which are declining?
Why might the balance of power shift?
How can elections, political leaders or events change a faction's position?
What consequences can changing factional influence have for party unity?
The examiner materials provide useful examples of this process.
Example: the rise of the Tea Party
The 2021 mark scheme identifies the rise of the Tea Party following the 2008 economic recession as an example of factional influence within Republican politics.
It states that the Tea Party:
rallied support inside and outside Congress around a more ideological platform
attracted members of Congress
helped encourage politicians to support policies associated with broader Republican ideas of limited government
This is a strong example of changing influence.
The analytical chain is:
political and economic circumstances → growth of a faction → politicians associate themselves with its platform → faction gains influence over party behaviour
The faction itself is useful not because students need a long history of the Tea Party, but because it demonstrates how internal party power can change.
Increasing party polarisation
The same 2021 mark scheme notes that US parties had become increasingly polarised, producing greater partisanship in congressional voting.
Partisanship means a strong attachment to a political party which can influence political behaviour.
Growing polarisation can affect internal divisions because it may make politicians more likely to vote with their party on significant issues.
This creates an important tension:
US parties remain broad coalitions
but
increased polarisation can strengthen party-line behaviour
So the existence of factions does not necessarily mean parties are always weak or divided.
Presidential leadership and factional influence
The 2021 mark scheme also identifies the impact of more divisive and populist presidential campaigns.
It states that these developments strengthened the Republican Party in particular and contributed to greater partisan congressional voting, while Democrats at times experienced divisions over national leadership.
This shows that factional influence can change because of political leadership.
A president does not have formal control over members of Congress, but the presidency can become an important focus for party ideology and political mobilisation.
This links with the informal powers of the presidency [Informal presidential powers].
Why factional influence changes
The supplied examiner material supports several broad reasons why factional power may change.
Political circumstances
The rise of the Tea Party after the 2008 economic recession shows that economic and political events can provide opportunities for more ideological movements to gain support.
Presidential leadership
A divisive or populist presidential campaign can shift the direction and unity of a party.
Electoral incentives
Members of Congress may support factional positions because they believe doing so will help them gain wider electoral support.
The loose structure of US parties
Examiner materials characterise US parties as loose coalitions, meaning party leadership cannot always ensure ideological conformity.
This allows different tendencies to gain or lose influence over time.
Factions and congressional voting
The significance of internal party divisions becomes particularly clear when analysing Congress.
The 2021 examiner report states that candidates could legitimately examine divisions within parties when explaining congressional voting behaviour. Successful responses needed to identify particular policy or legislative issues and explain how those divisions affected how individuals or groups voted.
This links directly with representation and congressional elections [Representation and congressional elections].
A useful chain is:
party contains factions → politicians may identify with different tendencies → party voting is not automatically uniform → factions can influence legislative outcomes
However, party ideology is not the only influence. Constituents, interest groups, campaign finance and personal beliefs can also affect voting.
Coalition of supporters
A coalition of supporters means that a political party draws electoral support from different sections of the population.
For Edexcel, you must analyse four specific demographic factors:
race
religion
gender
education
You must study these in relation to one presidential election campaign since 2000.
This is not simply a task of memorising which groups voted for which party.
The specification asks you to understand:
how each factor influenced voting
why the pattern existed
That requires analysis rather than description.
Why race may influence voting behaviour
Race is one of the four explicit Edexcel factors.
For examination revision, students need supported data or evidence from one chosen election before making claims about particular racial voting patterns.
Why religion may influence voting behaviour
Religion is another required factor.
The strongest support available in the supplied specification is the religious right, which generally supports the Republican Party and is associated with socially conservative positions including family values and opposition to abortion.
This supports the analytical relationship:
religious and moral beliefs → alignment with socially conservative policies → greater likelihood of support for politicians sharing those priorities
However, this does not establish the voting behaviour of every religious group.
Why gender may influence voting behaviour
Gender is explicitly listed by Edexcel as a factor students must analyse in one presidential election since 2000.
Do not invent or generalise gender voting patterns without supporting election evidence.
Why education may influence voting behaviour
Education is the fourth demographic factor specified by Edexcel.
Students therefore need to investigate how voting patterns differed according to educational background in their chosen presidential election and explain possible reasons for those differences.
Required presidential election case study
Edexcel requires all four demographic factors to be applied to one recent presidential election campaign since 2000.
The 2022 examiner report notes that many candidates used the 2016 Trump-Clinton election when discussing presidential elections. It also warns that unsupported assertions about voting behaviour were a weakness in lower-scoring answers.
However, the examiner report does not provide the demographic voting data required to establish the effects of:
race
religion
gender
education
in that election.
How to analyse demographic voting factors
Although the supplied evidence is insufficient for a complete named-election case study, the specification makes the examination method clear.
For each factor, students should construct a chain:
demographic characteristic → observable voting pattern → reason for that pattern → significance for the party's electoral coalition
For example, a properly supported answer should not stop at:
Group X was more likely to vote Republican.
It should develop:
Group X was more likely to support the Republican candidate, which can be linked to particular Republican principles or policy priorities that appealed to that group. This made the group an important component of the party's electoral coalition.
The actual group and evidence must come from the chosen election case study.
Do demographic factors determine voting?
Race, religion, gender and education should be treated as influences, not automatic determinants of an individual's vote.
The specification wording is important. Students need to examine how these factors are likely to influence voting patterns and why.
This means avoiding deterministic statements such as:
A person's religion determines their vote.
A more accurate approach is:
Religion may influence voting because voters can be attracted to parties whose policies align more closely with their moral or social priorities.
Other factors can still intervene.
Connecting party factions and voter coalitions
The two halves of this topic are closely related.
Political parties contain different factions, while their electoral support is also composed of different groups of voters.
These relationships can interact:
voter groups support particular political priorities → factions seek to represent or mobilise those priorities → factional influence within the party can increase → party policy and electoral strategy may change
This helps explain why factions do not remain equally powerful forever.
Their influence partly depends on political circumstances and whether their ideas attract electoral support.
Party labels still matter
Despite internal divisions, the 2022 mark scheme stresses that presidential candidates still rely heavily on party label and ideology.
Political parties:
help mobilise voters
organise voter drives
provide recognition to candidates
rally party supporters
can remain an important influence on presidential election outcomes
This means factional disagreement has not made the major parties irrelevant.
The stronger judgement is:
US parties contain significant internal ideological diversity, but the Democratic and Republican labels still organise political competition and mobilise identifiable coalitions of voters.
Factions versus party unity
You should be able to analyse both sides of this debate.
Evidence of division
The specification explicitly identifies different tendencies within each party.
Parties may contain individuals such as conservative Democrats or liberal Republicans.
Factions can influence congressional voting.
Democratic leadership has at times experienced internal division.
US parties are broad coalitions.
Evidence of greater unity
Party polarisation has increased.
Members have become more likely to vote along party lines on significant issues.
Presidential leadership can rally a party.
Party labels remain important in elections.
The best conclusion therefore avoids saying US parties are either completely divided or completely united.
Their degree of unity can change according to issue, leadership, electoral circumstances and factional influence.
Overall significance of divisions and supporters
Three ideas bring the topic together.
First, the Democratic and Republican parties are coalitions rather than ideologically uniform organisations.
Second, the influence of factions changes over time, as shown by developments such as the rise of the Tea Party and increasing polarisation.
Third, parties depend on coalitions of voters, and Edexcel requires race, religion, gender and education to be analysed through one presidential election since 2000.
The topic therefore connects the internal organisation of political parties with electoral behaviour and prepares you for analysing the wider forces shaping US democracy in Interest groups [Interest groups] and Interpretations and debates of US democracy and participation [Interpretations and debates of US democracy and participation].
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Faction | A group within a political party based on ideology, identity, occupation, age or a particular political concern. | Use when explaining why Democrats or Republicans may disagree internally. |
Moderate | One of the ideological tendencies identified by Edexcel within both major US parties. | Use when demonstrating that neither party consists entirely of its most ideological members. |
Social conservative | A Republican tendency identified by Edexcel that concerns conservative approaches to social and moral politics. | Use when analysing internal Republican divisions and links with socially conservative supporters. |
Fiscal conservative | A distinct conservative tendency within the Republican Party identified by the specification. | Use when explaining that Republican factions may prioritise different aspects of conservatism. |
Religious right | An ultraconservative religious movement generally supportive of the Republican Party and associated with family values and conservative social policies. | Use when analysing religion as a factor in Republican support and socially conservative politics. |
Hints from the Examiner Reports đź’ˇ
Examiner hint: Know the factions. The 2020 examiner report noted surprisingly limited knowledge of factions within political parties. Simply stating a policy difference between Democrats and Republicans does not demonstrate understanding of divisions within each party.
Examiner hint: Develop factional examples. The 2021 report stressed that candidates should identify policy or legislative areas where divisions exist and then explain how those divisions affected political behaviour. Naming a faction without explaining its consequences will restrict AO2.
Examiner hint:Â Support claims about voting behaviour with evidence. The 2022 report criticised answers that made assertions about presidential voting behaviour without substantiation. If you claim that a particular demographic group favoured a candidate, you need evidence from your chosen election.
Examiner hint:Â Avoid narrative answers. Stronger responses analyse the significance of a factor rather than merely describing a party's ideology or listing campaign events.
Examiner hint:Â Use a range of evidence. The 2022 report found that reliance on a single example, particularly the 2016 presidential contest, could restrict the range of arguments available to a candidate.
Examiner hint:Â In extended responses, develop evaluation throughout. Examiner guidance stresses that AO1 knowledge, AO2 analysis and AO3 evaluation all matter. A conclusion should follow from the argument rather than simply asserting that both sides are equally important.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Treating Democrats and Republicans as internally united
Why this is incorrect: The specification explicitly requires liberals, moderates and conservatives within the Democrats, and moderates, social conservatives and fiscal conservatives within the Republicans.
How to improve: Whenever discussing a party position, ask whether a particular faction might differ from the broad party tendency.
Mistake: Confusing divisions within parties with differences between the parties
Why this is incorrect: "Democrats disagree with Republicans" is inter-party disagreement. This lesson also requires intra-party divisions, meaning disagreements among Democrats or among Republicans.
How to improve: Use the question:
Am I comparing two parties, or two tendencies inside the same party?
Mistake: Assuming a faction has permanent influence
Why this is incorrect: The specification requires the changing power and influence of tendencies. Factional strength can alter because of economic circumstances, elections, leaders and wider political developments.
How to improve: Use examples over time and explain why influence increased or decreased, rather than merely naming factions.
Mistake: Listing the Tea Party without analysing its significance
Why this is incorrect: Knowing that the Tea Party existed is only AO1 knowledge.
How to improve: Develop the chain:
2008 economic recession → Tea Party gains support → members of Congress associate with its limited-government platform → faction affects Republican political behaviour
Mistake: Treating demographic factors as automatic voting rules
Why this is incorrect: Race, religion, gender and education are factors that may influence voting patterns. They do not determine every individual's vote.
How to improve: Use phrases such as more likely, tendency, voting pattern and may influence.
Mistake: Making unsupported claims about election demographics
Why this is incorrect: The 2022 examiner report specifically warns against assertions about voting behaviour with no substantiation.
How to improve: Select one post-2000 presidential election and learn reliable evidence for all four Edexcel factors:
race
religion
gender
education
Mistake: Describing demographics without explaining why they matter
Why this is incorrect: The specification asks how these factors influence voting and why.
How to improve: Use a four-stage structure:
evidence → pattern → political explanation → significance for the party coalition
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Define the term faction. (2 marks)
Answer / mark scheme:
Award up to 2 marks for explaining that a faction is:
a group within a political party
which may be based on ideology, age, occupation or particular political concerns
Question 2
Identify the three Democratic Party tendencies specified by Edexcel. (3 marks)
Answer:
liberals
moderates
conservatives
Award 1 mark for each.
Question 3
Identify the three Republican Party tendencies specified by Edexcel. (3 marks)
Answer:
moderates
social conservatives
fiscal conservatives
Award 1 mark for each.
Question 4
Explain why the existence of factions can reduce party unity. (4 marks)
Answer / mark scheme:
Credit a developed explanation such as:
factions contain politicians with different ideological priorities
members may therefore disagree over particular policies
broad coalitions may contain individuals whose views differ from the wider party position
politicians may consequently vote differently from other members of their own party
Higher marks require a clear political consequence.
Question 5
Analyse how the rise of a political faction can alter the influence of ideas within a party. (6 marks)
Answer / mark scheme:
A strong response could use the Tea Party:
the Tea Party gained influence following the 2008 economic recession
it rallied support around a more ideological platform
members of Congress associated themselves with the faction
this encouraged greater support for wider Republican limited-government ideas
therefore changing political circumstances allowed one faction to increase its influence within the party
Question 6
Explain two reasons why party unity may change over time in the USA. (6 marks)
Answer / mark scheme:
Credit two developed explanations from:
Factional change
new or expanding factions may increase ideological disagreement or shift the party's direction
Presidential leadership
divisive or populist leaders may alter the ideological direction and unity of a party
Polarisation
increasing polarisation may make party members more likely to vote along party lines
Electoral pressures
politicians may support factional positions where they believe these will increase electoral support
Maximum marks require explanation rather than identification.
Question 7
A student writes:
"Religion determines whether someone votes Republican or Democrat."
Explain why this is an inaccurate interpretation of voting behaviour. (6 marks)
Answer / mark scheme:
Credit points including:
Edexcel treats religion as a factor likely to influence voting patterns
it is not presented as an automatic determinant
the religious right generally supports Republicans because of conservative social priorities
not every religious voter necessarily belongs to the religious right or shares identical political views
other factors such as race, gender and education may also influence voting
therefore election analysis should examine tendencies rather than deterministic rules
Question 8
Evaluate the view that divisions within the major political parties significantly weaken party influence in the USA. (30 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
AO1 knowledge and understanding
Relevant content may include:
meaning of factions
Democratic liberals, moderates and conservatives
Republican moderates, social conservatives and fiscal conservatives
broad-coalition nature of US parties
conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans
Tea Party
increasing polarisation and partisanship
continuing importance of party label and ideology
AO2 analysis
Arguments supporting the view might include:
factions create conflicting ideological priorities
politicians may resist their party leadership
loose party structures make ideological conformity difficult
changing factional influence may reduce consistent policy positions
Arguments challenging the view might include:
increasing polarisation has encouraged party-line voting
presidential leaders can rally party supporters
party labels remain important in elections
political parties continue to mobilise voters and provide candidate recognition
AO3 evaluation
A high-level response should avoid treating party unity as fixed.
The strongest judgement may argue that factional divisions remain significant, but their effect depends on:
the political issue
the strength of presidential leadership
electoral pressures
the degree of polarisation at the time
Question 9
Evaluate the view that demographic factors are the most important explanation of support for the Democratic and Republican parties in presidential elections. (30 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
AO1 knowledge and understanding
Relevant knowledge should include evidence from one presidential election since 2000Â concerning:
race
religion
gender
education
Relevant alternative factors may be drawn from the specification content on:
party principles
factions
presidential candidates
the electoral process
campaign finance
Important source limitation:Â the supplied files identify these required factors but do not provide sufficient demographic evidence from one named election to construct a complete supported case study. Numerical data should therefore be taken from an appropriate taught case study rather than invented.
AO2 analysis
Students should explain:
how each demographic factor related to voting patterns
why different groups may have been attracted to different parties
whether demographic characteristics interacted rather than operating separately
whether party policy, ideology or candidate appeal provide stronger explanations
AO3 evaluation
A strong answer should avoid arguing that demographic characteristics automatically determine votes.
The judgement should assess their relative importance and recognise that their impact can vary between groups and elections.
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