What are interest groups and political equality? An interest group is a structured group that tries to persuade the government to implement certain policies or measures. While a political party is defined as a well-thought-out group of people with at least nearly comparable political goals and opinions, which seeks to influence public policy by voting its candidates into public office. According to Political Science: Introduction “interest groups are a bit like political parties. Both seek to influence public policy, but interest groups do so outside the electoral process and are not accountable to the public.” Interest groups are a significant mechanism through which citizens in the United States express their thoughts, desires, interest groups make promises such as donating money and sending lobbyists to work in Washington. According to Political Science: An Introduction “Lobbying receives the most attention. Campaign contributions and corporate favors to legislators convince many that lobbyists are buying Congress. Indeed, any major interest threatened by new laws spares no expense in ensuring that the laws do not pass, and they are usually successful.” The goal of these groups is to defend the economic good of their customers or members. Interest groups also actively engage in political campaigns. “Interest groups can influence the nomination of candidates who are sympathetic to their cause, but candidates run under the party banner – not under the interest group banner. Parties seek power through elections. Interest groups usually focus on specific programs and issues and are rarely represented in the formal structure of government. Instead, they seek to influence legislators and executives. They often seek the favor of all political parties.” By seeking the favor of all political parties they would have a greater impact in government and According to Ronald Hrebenar “interest groups continue to challenge political parties as the dominant political organizations in American politics. The “era of new politics,” a term that describes the decline of political parties and the rise of interest groups as articulators of political demands, continues almost unabated at both the national and state levels. Functions that were once performed by political parties, such as selecting candidates, raising funds, and drafting legislation, are now taken over by interest groups. Interest groups are proving more flexible than parties in meeting the wide range of political demands and tasks placed on the American political organization.” A negative effect of political parties is that they become too powerful, and political parties can often seem like a debilitating influence on the system