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

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 patterns. This book argues that this significantly impacts our ability to understand macro-level electoral shifts in the United States in general. The book analyzes gubernatorial, 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 patterns, shifts, and continuities. Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction Data References 2 The Alabama of the Dying Old South: 1945–1968 The Alabama of V.O. Key’s South County-Level Shifts 1945–1968: Hill Country Progressives Versus Black Belt Dixiecrats Conclusion References 3 Tidal Wave of Change: 1970–1994 The Era of Civil Rights and Partisan Disruption in Alabama County-Level Shifts 1970–1994: Partisan Realignment Conclusion References 4 Change Meets Continuity: 1996–2020 Alabama—One-Party State Once Again? County-Level Shifts 1996–2020: New and Old Patterns Conclusion References 5 Epilogue: A Look Towards the Future References References Index