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Partisan-Ideological Divergence and Changing Party Fortunes in the States, 1968—2003

A Federal Perspective

University of Mississippi, psrbrown{at}olemiss.edu

John M. Bruce

University of Mississippi, jbruce{at}olemiss.edu

We expand on previous literature on party competition in the American states by examining competition for both state and national offices. We find significant differences in Democratic Party electoral advantage within states, along with across-state variation in changes in these differences over time. We attribute these results to movement in the partisanship and ideology of the states' citizenry. As consistency in these core political attitudes increases, parties are able to campaign and govern on messages that are more consistent across electoral levels. The result is greater consistency in party electoral performance across state and national offices.

Key Words: party competition • ideology • partisanship • federalism

This version was published on December 1, 2008

Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 61, No. 4, 585-597 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1065912908317795


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