Suchergebnisse

Alabama's 2004 election was a quiet affair. Signs that a presidential campaign was occurring-candidate visits, partisan rallies, hard-hitting television commercials, or get-out-the-vote efforts-were largely missing from the state. The outcome of Alabama's U.S. Senate race was a forgone conclusion from the beginning of the year. All of the state's congressmen were easily reelected. Contests for the few state offices up for election in 2004 were generally both invisible and uncompetitive. The only part of the ballot that generated any interest-and even here it was limited-involved a pro-posed amendment to Alabama's already long state constitution.

Although on a superficial level there were few if any surprises in Alabama's 2004 elections, there are some features that indicate coming shifts in the state's partisan politics. Specifically, the process & results of the election sound alarms about sustained Democratic competitiveness. The particulars of the election are also suggestive of growing tensions within the Alabama Republican Party. Either or both of these issues could substantially change the state's future partisan politics. Therefore, the state's 2004 elections, regardless of the apparent ordinariness of the outcome, may be regarded as marking an especially significant moment in Alabama's political history. Tables, References. K. Coddon

This study examines four explanations associated with the rationalistic or cognitive model of party identification for the decline in partisanship. The results of the study show that several factors affect the number of Independents within the electorate. Some of these factors have different effects on the partisanship of younger and older, and Northern and Southern citizens. Other factors have a more general influence on partisanship. Perceptions of the importance or relevance of parties, especially as a means for making electoral choices, affect the level of partisanship among all population groups examined. Evaluations of the Democratic and Republican parties affect the partisanship of both younger and older Northerners, but not Southerners.