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The election of 1896 is regarded as a critical one in which a significant and enduring shift in party electoral fortunes occurred. This evidence is so important because it supports the more general argument that critical realignments are the way that significant electoral changes occur. Change is seen as abrupt, with new alignments persisting tier decades. Voters are seen as detached, briefly attentive, and then relatively stable in a new alignment. In this view, the political process is not seen as one in which there is continuous political debate, electoral attention, and secular electoral change. This analysis reexamines the evidence for the occurence of a critical realignment in 1896, using results for presidential and House elections. The data do not indicate that an abrupt change occurred in 1896. The changes that occurred were gradual, with most occurring after 1896. The evidence suggests that secular change and gradual electoral shifts should receive much more attention. Keywords: critical realignment; secular realignment; 1896 election; political parties

Income has the potential to divide people politically. Most attempts to assess the impact of income focus on individual-level analyses. Representatives, however, are elected in districts, which have varying compositions of constituents. To assess the connection between income and party in congressional elections, we need to focus on income composition of districts and how partisan outcomes are related to these variations. This analysis assesses that relationship and how it has changed in recent decades. The focus is on U.S. House districts from 1962 to 1996. The relationship of district income and party outcomes is then examined by region. Since 1962, income has emerged as a significant source of political divisions in the South and North, whereas the remainder of the country has not developed a relationship. Finally, we analyze the 1994 and 1996 Congressional elections, and find that the relationship of income to party continues to be significant, but the 1994 election attenuated the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The condition of state party organizations is unclear. Some argue they are declining, whereas others argue they are making a comeback. Some of the ambiguity stems from incomplete information, but some of it stems from changes in the organization of the "state party." New organizations have emerged and our organizational assessments have not incorporated the changing reality. The traditional state party committees have been joined by legislative party campaign committees, and party resources have become more dispersed. The state party organization is no longer defined by just the traditional state party organization. This article presents a comprehensive case study of these changes. It examines the condition and growth of all state party organizations in New York across three election cycles. The legislative party committees are better financed than the traditional state party committees, and they play a major role in financing state legislative candidates. The focus, it appears, should be as much on the legislative party campaign committees as on the traditional state party committees when trying to understand the condition of state party organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]