AP U.S. Government and Politics / Political Participation
Lesson
Parties, groups, and campaigns
Linkage institutions organize people and pressure officials.
Learning goals
- Distinguish political parties from interest groups.
- Explain how campaigns use money, media, and party labels to win.
Explanation
Parties recruit candidates, write platforms, and try to win elections so they can run government. Interest groups usually focus on a narrower policy and may back candidates from more than one party. Both are linkage institutions: they connect people to officials between elections.
Campaigns mix party identification, advertising, fundraising, and turnout operations. Finance rules and court decisions shape how money can be raised and spent, which affects who can compete. Media—from local news to social feeds—then filters what voters see. Follow the incentives: parties want majorities; groups want policy; campaigns want the next winning coalition.
Key terms
- political party. An organization that nominates candidates and seeks to win elections in order to control government.
- interest group. An organization that tries to influence policy on a specific set of issues, often without running its own ticket.
Common mistakes
- Calling every organized advocate a party.
- Treating campaign money as the only cause of election results.
Practice
Original Marlow Works items. Check the answer explanation after you try.
Which principle is most directly illustrated when a state government and the federal government both have authority to tax?
Original Marlow Works item — not a College Board question.
Take your time—this is practice, not a test.
Answer explanation
What job does a party have that a typical interest group does not?
Answer. Nominating a slate of candidates and trying to control government by winning elections.
Groups pressure government; parties try to become government.
Related resources
External links with reuse status. Marlow Works is independent and does not copy restricted exam or textbook material.
Official / link only
AP U.S. Government and Politics course page
Official five-unit framework, foundational documents, and skills.
College Board · All rights reserved · accessed 2026-10-01
Open sourceCC BY — attribution required
Introduction to Political Science
Open political science background for institutions and behavior.
Open Textbook Library listing · CC BY · accessed 2026-10-01
Open source