# Political Party Definition

> US political parties define candidates and election goals.
- Title: Political Party Definition · USAFacts | Shortify
- Summary: US political parties define candidates and election goals. Political parties are groups sharing goals to win elections, with Democrats and Republicans…
- Keywords: political party, democratic party, republican party, us house, us senate, federal law, major party, minor party, news, politics, money, Political
- Source: USAFacts — https://usafacts.org/articles/political-party-definition
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: political party, democratic party, republican party, us house, us senate, federal law, major party, minor party, news, politics, money
## Political Party Definition
A political party is a group of people who share political goals and work together to win elections.
## Election Role
Political parties nominate candidates and work to win elections based on a shared set of political goals.
## Major Parties
For most of US history, there have been two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
## Party Platform
Each party has a platform: the positions it takes on a set of issues.
## Minor Parties
While these two parties have dominated the national political scene, minor parties have also fielded candidates and won offices.
## Party Categories
Federal law puts parties into three categories based on how their candidate did in the last presidential election.
## Key takeaway

Political parties are groups sharing goals to win elections, with Democrats and Republicans dominating federal offices.