Republican South

David Lublin is Associate Professor of Government in the School of Public Affairs at American University. He is the author of "The Paradox of Representation: Racial Gerrymandering and Minority Interests in Congress" (Princeton).

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2004 "The democratization of Southern politics, coupled with economic issues rather than racial issues, best explains Republican ascendancy in the South over the past half century of gradual partisan change. So concludes David Lublin in his valuable study challenging the conventional presumption that GOP gains in the South are premised primarily on the politics of race... The book is clearly written, well organized, and well documented."--Political Science Quarterly

• List of Figures xi List of Tables xiii Preface xv Acknowledgments xix Chapter One Introduction 1 Core Questions 2 Describing Partisan Change 3 A Typology of Partisan Change 3 Classifying Partisan Change in the South 6 Explaining Partisan Change in the South 8 The Historical Role of Race in the South 9 Political Elites and Partisan Change 15 Institutions and Partisan Change 20 Racial Issues, Racial Context, and Partisan Change 23 Racial, Economic, and Social Issues and Partisan Change 28 Outline of the Book 31 Chapter Two The Pace of Republican Gains 33 Federal Elections 34 Presidential Elections 34 Congressional Elections 36 State Elections 40 Gubernatorial Elections 40 State Legislative Elections 46 Local Elections 53 Top-Down Republican Gains? 60 Conclusion 64 Chapter Three Strategic Elites and Partisan Choice 66 Why Focus on Local and State Legislative Contests? 67 An Indicator of Partisanship 67 Strategic Behavior by Elites 70 The Local Elections Database 73 Candidate Recruitment 74 Republican Contestation of Southern Elections 75 The Incumbency Advantage in Local Elections 81 Conclusion 93 Chapter Four The Role of Institutions 95 The History of Institutions in Southern Politics 96 Racial Redistricting in the Nineteenth Century 96 The Establishment of Primary and Runoff Elections 98 Racial Redistricting 99 Criticisms and Defenses of Racial Redistricting 101 Racial Redistricting Stimulates Partisan Change 104 Primary Elections 115 Enfranchisement, the Democratic Primary, and Partisan Change 116 Louisiana 123 The Initiative Process and Term Limits 126 No Party Labels on the Ballot:The Case of Virginia 127 Conclusion 131 Chapter Five The Impact of Racial Context 134 Race Remains Central to Black Partisanship 135 The History of Black Partisanship 137 Maintaining Black Support for the Democrats Today 141 Racial Threat, Electoral Outcomes, and White Voting Behavior 146 National Elections 151 County and State Legislative Elections 155 County and State Legislative Elites 159 Submerged White Backlash?162 Conclusion 170 Chapter Six Issues and White Partisanship 172 Explaining White Partisan Change in the South 172 Racial Explanations 173 Class or Social Issue Explanations 174 Multiple Factors? 175 The Overemphasis on Racial Issues 177 Assessing the Relative Importance of Racial, Economic, and Social Issues 183 Racial Issues and Democratic Officials 183 Class, Economic Issues, and Partisan Change 187 Social Issues and Partisan Change 192 Comparing the Impact of Racial, Economic, and Social Issues 207 Economic Issues Remain Paramount 207 Racial and Social Issues Have Grown in Importance 210 Conclusion 213 Chapter Seven The Future of Southern Politics 217 A New "Solid South"? 218 Issues and Southern Politics 221 Do Long-Term Trends Favor the Democrats? 223 Rising Minority Population 223 Supreme Court Attacks on Racial Redistricting 230 Appendix 233 Index 239