AO1: Divisions over Obamacare; between Biden and Manchin, Biden and Sinema. AO2: Even with a united Democratic government, Obama found it challenging to pass his flagship healthcare reform plan AO3: which suggests that the party is not always united over policy, even with a popular president this suggests that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party. AO1: Divisions over presidential nominations, e.g. AO2: Clinton/Sanders, Sanders/Biden. It has been suggested that the Democratic divide over the presidential nomination in 2016 cost them the election (Sanders v Clinton) AO3: as this was portrayed by the media as showing in-fighting and disunity this suggests that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party. AO1: Divisions over more left-wing policies, e.g. abortion, racial politics, gun control (Obama). AO2: There are a number of factions in both the left, right and moderate wings of the Democratic party on a range of issues that make it challenging to command support for bills AO3: especially on social issues such as gun control and abortion, where more conservative Democrats tend to side with the Republicans this suggests that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party. AO1: Blue Dog Coalition/Conservative Democrats are influential. AO2: Factions such as the Blue Dog Democrats are well-established and influential within Congress AO3: particularly in terms of helping negotiate between the more liberal and conservative wings of the party – this suggests that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party. AO1: Divisions more likely to exist when a president advances their own agenda in a time of divided government. AO2: At those times, a president must rely on their powers of persuasion as they cannot rely on party ideology to pass proposed legislation AO3: for example, Obama could not rely on total Democratic support after the Sandy Hook shooting for gun law reforms – this suggests that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party.

AO1: The Republicans have also suffered serious divisions, e.g. AO2: Tea Party. Divisions within the Republican Party have made it difficult to pass legislation on fiscal policy in particular AO3: and have had a long-term impact on the ideology and unity of the party – this challenges the view that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party, as it demonstrates serious divisions within the Republicans. AO1: Divisions continued during the Trump presidency over immigration policy. AO2: Republicans have suffered similar divisions: despite having united government, those differences over immigration policy made it difficult for Trump to gain approval for funding for the Wall with Mexico AO3: despite being a populist policy amongst party members this challenges the view the Democratic Party is more divided as it demonstrates serious divisions within Republicans. AO1: Divisions are appearing over the 2024 presidential nomination. AO2: There appears to be a large faction of the Republican party that united behind securing Trump the 2024 presidential faction – but another large anti-Trump faction has formed, but not yet united behind one candidate AO3: Suggesting that the party is lacking unity over leadership/a figurehead this challenges the view the Democratic Party is more divided as it demonstrates serious divisions within Republicans. AO1: Democratic Party (and the Republicans) are more likely to be united in times of united government Both parties have demonstrated unity in times of national crisis: Biden, for example, has been able to secure the majority of the Covid recovery funding that he requested, and Trump was able to secure a $1.5 trillion tax cut package AO3: suggesting that it is possible to unite either party around popular policies/presidents this challenges the view that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party as it suggests that both parties are able to unite over key policy issues when necessary, no matter what divisions they have faced. AO1: Both parties suffer from divisions and inability to enforce party unity. AO2: Both parties are affected by divisions that have led to increased bipartisanship, e.g. the Gang of Six and Gang of 8 are bipartisan groups that act independently of their respective parties AO3: and so demonstrate that party unity exists only in name or when the individual policy under discussion is significant enough for elected officials to unite behind it. This challenges the view that the Democratic Party is more internally divided than the Republican Party as it suggests that both parties are divided.