amid dizzying chaos in presidential politics (at least on the republican side) and seemingly intractable dysfunction in washington, it<u+2019>s tempting to conclude that stabilizing influences are nowhere to be found. but that wouldn<u+2019>t be true. hidden in plain view, state parties continue to play a critical and distinctive role in politics, and strengthening them is an achievable way to improve the functioning of the political system.









that is what raymond j. la raja (a political scientist with the university of massachusetts at amherst) and i conclude in a new brookings report. in <u+201c>the state of state parties,<u+201d> the two of us, along with u-mass (amherst) researcher samuel vansant stoddard, looked up-close and in detail at the condition of state party committees, surveying all 100 of them (56 responded) and interviewing 15 of their leaders. we also compared our findings with earlier surveys, gathered national data, and interviewed national-level party officials. our main conclusions:









beyond its conclusions, our report provides a rich account of what state parties are doing and how well they<u+2019>re doing it in the real world. the report<u+2019>s findings are data driven and complemented with rich quotations and stories.









the disorganization of american politics is a generational problem that will take years to sort out. being political realists, la raja and i believe reforms need to be gradualist and doable, and they need to cut with, rather than against, the grain of everyday political incentives. state parties have been overlooked for too long, and they offer fertile ground for practical and attainable solutions for the growing dysfunction in american politics.
state parties can reduce polarization and improve the political system | institution
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