Electoral parties- Memebership doesn't carry any obligations. Parties exist simply to win elections. Parties are not so consistent ideologically. U.S. political parties are electoral parties. Characteristics of party system - 1.
System is decentralized because state laws govern elections.
There are 50 Democratic and 50 Republican parties. They come together every four years to nominate a candidate for the presidency. Parties are ideologically not very consistent. Major parties are not parties of ideology. There are two dominant political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats.