National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Comm’n · ¶30
Political parties articulate policy positions and platforms; select candidates through a primary or caucus process; and then support the election of those candidates in general election campaigns. Because a political party’s “success or failure depends in large part on whether its candidates get elected,” it is “natural for a party and its candidate to work together and consult with one another during the course of the election.” Federal Election Comm’n v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Comm., 533 U. S. 431, 469 (2001) (Colorado II) (THOMAS, J., dissenting). Indeed, as Justice Kennedy described, it “would be impractical and imprudent, to say the least, for a party to support its own candidates without some form of ‘cooperation’ or ‘consultation.’” Colorado I, 518 U. S., at 630. After all, “candidates are necessary to make the party’s message known and effective, and vice versa.”…Read in context ›
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