Sentence:  Certainly there have been bitterly contested elections in this country before. <WSD>Party spirit</WSD> is always rife, and in such vivid, excitable, disputatious communities as ours are, and I trust always will be, it is the very soul of freedom. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The feeling of common purpose and togetherness experienced or shown by members or supporters of a group, especially a political party, sometimes accompanied by unreasonable animosity towards members or supporters of other groups.