The right (and the left to an only _slightly_ less degree) represent the elite in this country. The elite use the right and the left for several purposes.
The right exist to cut their taxes, extract subsidies, maintain global military dominance, and control the population. They use jingoism, religious zeal, and race/gender wedge issues to form their voting bloc. Elites have an ironclad hold over the hierarchical Republican party. <-- this is where the support of the police comes in.
The left exist to maintain the illusion of a functioning free democracy, to enact necessary reforms as tolerated by the right, to extract subsidies, to impose market entry barrier regulation, and to keep the economy upright. Elites have a strong control over the Democratic party, and tolerate their lack of control over the rest of it for the "illusion of a functioning free democracy" reasons, etc.
This is the reason that the elections are so close. Elites control the elections with campaign finance, and will only pay the exhorbitant costs of elections to the degree that they can maintain control: ideally with a president + 1 of the congressional halls (they own the supreme court already), but if they don't have the president they want, they have enough flunkies on the democratic "center" to maintain status quo until they have full control, and get what they need passed.
The elites only pay for 51% victories. So all the elections are 50% +/- one point.
I abhor calling these people "elites", it is a term of political science and economics, from two areas of study completely beholden to sucking the teats of the rich for status and approval.