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Partisan change outside of the South has not been studied as extensively as in the 11 states of the Old Confederacy. Given the partisan advantage that the Democratic Party enjoys outside of the South, understanding the dynamics of party support among non-southerners appears to be important to study in its own right – not just as a point of contrast to that of the South. The goal of this article is to update and expand on one of the few pieces of scholarship to probe the reasons for the survival of the Democratic Party outside of the South. Using data from the American National Election Studies, the article concurs with these findings, that the Democratic Party has been successful in maintaining support among low income whites outside the South. However, a class-based explanation offers a partial explanation for the Democratic advantage in party identification. Ideological realignment has also expanded the Democratic base among middle and high income liberals and moderates. Overall, the findings of the article suggest that the electoral prospects of the Democratic Party outside of the South should be favourable for some time to come. The Democratic Party has not just survived outside of the South, it has prospered, and this provides a decided advantage for the party in national elections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article focuses on partisan change in a region that has become a Democratic stronghold: the Northeast. Using data from the American National Election Studies, the article conceptualizes realignment as changes in the social group composition and ideological and issue bases of party support. Findings suggest that an ideological realignment has transformed the party coalitions in the Northeast in a way that suggests a widespread and durable Democratic advantage. Furthermore, this realignment was produced by both party conversion and generational replacement of the electorate. The article finds little signs that a competitive Republican electoral coalition can be forged, and that a solid Democratic Northeast will likely be a feature of American politics and a regional pillar of any emerging national Democratic majority. Este artículo se enfoca en el cambio partidista en una región que se ha convertido en un bastión Demócrata: el Noreste. Utilizando información de los Estudios Americanos Nacionales de Elecciones (ANES, por sus siglas en inglés), este artículo conceptualiza la realineación como cambios en la composición de los grupos sociales y sus bases ideológicas y de las bases de apoyo partidista por asunto. Los resultados sugieren que una realineación ideológica ha transformado las coaliciones partidistas en el Noreste de una forma que sugiere una ventaja Demócrata extendida y durable. Además, esta realineación fue producida tanto por la transformación del partido como por un remplazo generacional del electorado. El artículo encuentra pocas señales que una coalición electoral competitiva Republicana pueda ser forjada, y que un sólido Noreste Demócrata será probablemente un rasgo de la política Americana y un pilar regional emergente de cualquier mayoría nacional Demócrata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important developments in southern politics in recent years has been the increase in the number of whites holding Republican Party identifications. This article examines the effects of racial attitudes on changing levels of partisanship. Specifically, the article focuses on the concept of racial resentment or symbolic racism. This is an appropriate concept to examine the effects of the contemporary racial attitudes on partisanship, as racial issues have become much more diffuse in nature. It is argued that in the 1990s the southern Republican congressional leadership was especially successful in making salient issues likely to activate the racial resentment of southern whites. A multivariate analysis demonstrates that racial resentment was not a strong or significant predictor of partisanship prior to 1994; however, in 1994 and 2000 racial resentment had a large and significant effect on partisanship. These findings suggest that race and racial attitudes continue to shape southern party politics in the early twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]