“In the context of a divided electorate, highly polarized parties and non-stop combat in an unending string of elections to fill national and state offices, presidential contests are less likely to usher in dominance than to invite opposition”

The White House is a major prize, but in our system of checks and balances, the president legislates with Congress. In the context of a divided electorate, highly polarized parties and non-stop combat in an unending string of elections to fill national and state offices, presidential contests are less likely to usher in dominance than to invite opposition.

That’s in part because presidential election years — with high and demographically diverse turnout and more or less equal weighting of votes across the country — look very different from the more frequent elections that fill these other institutions.

Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, “Why Trump Can’t Break the G.O.P.”, The New York Times (3 April 2016), SR3.