political party affiliation

When identifying a politician with his, her, or, more likely, its political party, use parenthesis, the letter of the party name (without a period), a hyphen and the abbreviation of the state they represent. For example, John Doe, eminent Republican from Wyoming, is John Doe (R-Wyo.). Note that the state abbreviation is just that. Do not use the postal abbreviation. So, Jane Smith (D-Conn.). Use 'Conn.' instead of 'CT.' Independents use 'I.' Ah, would that there be more independents. George Washington's (I-Va.) prescient warning has been the victim of our society's poor memory.