Recapturing the Majority

• The minority leader's number one priority is putting the party in a position to retake the legislative body in the next election. This is an extremely high priority because without majority control, a political party cannot get any of its legislative initiative passed. This is true whether it is the House, Senate or another country's legislative body.
  
  

Methods

• The methods in which this goal is carried out vary according to the individual and the circumstances. If, for example, the minority party is the same as the president's party, then the minority leader will routinely confer with the president regarding policies and strategies for taking back the legislative body. If not, though, then this is not an option.
  
  More broadly, then, the minority leader criticizes the "policies and programs" of the majority party in an effort to undermine it in the next election. This quote is attributed to Rep. Bertrand Snell, a Republican House minority leader from 1931 to 1939.
  
  

Campaigning

• Minority leaders tend to be energetic career politicians with many connections and solid name recognition. This means they have the resources to carry out the major part of their job--participating in, creating and funding campaigns. They search for new talent to run in weak majority seats, set up Political Action Committees to raise money and speak on behalf of candidates when election time nears. These are all actions that help to retake the legislative body at the next election.
  
  

Other Methods

• The minority leader will also try to convince candidates looking at retirement or other government positions to refrain. This is particularly true for established legislators whose seats are considered "safe." The minority leader will also sometimes try to block majority legislative initiatives in an effort to undermine them during the next election campaign for "doing nothing."
  
  

Cooperation

• Finally, a minority leader will occasionally cooperate with the majority leader to pass legislation that both parties--or at least majorities of each party--agree upon. Unfortunately, this is not as common as it could be, but when bipartisanship does happen, it is generally at the minority leader's behest.