Electoral Pattes in Alabama:Local Change and Continuity Amid National Trends (Palgrave Studies in US Elections)

by: Regina L. Wagner (Author)

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Edition: 1st ed. 2022

Publication Date: 2022/8/27

Language: English

Print Length: 135 pages

ISBN-10: 303106769X

ISBN-13: 9783031067693

Book Description

While significant attention in political science is devoted to national level elections, a comprehensive look at state level political dynamics in the United States is so far sorely missing, and state level electoral developments and shifts are treated as mere reflections of national-level dynamics and pattes. This book argues that this significantly impacts our ability to understand macro-level electoral shifts in the United States in general. The book analyzes gubeatorial, congressional, and presidential election results in the state of Alabama from 1945 through 2020. Comprehensive maps of county-level partisan shifts over time and comparisons between trends for different offices make it possible to isolate pivotal elections and compare state-level and national trends over time. When and where did Alabama’s electorate break with the Democratic Party, and were these breaks uniform across the state? Which counties shifted the most over time, and wasthis shift gradual or characterized by change elections? Comprehensive electoral data, on the county- and precinct-level, make it possible to answer these questions and place state-level electoral behavior in its regional and national context. Detailed county level demographic and economic data is used to provide local context for electoral pattes, shifts, and continuities.

About the Author

While significant attention in political science is devoted to national level elections, a comprehensive look at state level political dynamics in the United States is so far sorely missing, and state level electoral developments and shifts are treated as mere reflections of national-level dynamics and pattes. This book argues that this significantly impacts our ability to understand macro-level electoral shifts in the United States in general. The book analyzes gubeatorial, congressional, and presidential election results in the state of Alabama from 1945 through 2020. Comprehensive maps of county-level partisan shifts over time and comparisons between trends for different offices make it possible to isolate pivotal elections and compare state-level and national trends over time. When and where did Alabama’s electorate break with the Democratic Party, and were these breaks uniform across the state? Which counties shifted the most over time, and wasthis shift gradual or characterized by change elections? Comprehensive electoral data, on the county- and precinct-level, make it possible to answer these questions and place state-level electoral behavior in its regional and national context. Detailed county level demographic and economic data is used to provide local context for electoral pattes, shifts, and continuities.