Seth C McKee 
The Dynamics of Southern Politics 
Causes and Consequences

‘I cannot praise the author enough for rising to the challenge of providing students with an accessible trip through time to show the emergence of the one-party South and how the South evolved over time.’ 

—Keith Lee,
Georgia College



Taking a hard look at the changing demographics in the American South,
The Dynamics of Southern Politics discusses how this region remains exceptional while also addressing how that exceptionalism is eroding. Author Seth Mc Kee tells a historically rich story going back to the end of the Civil War, tracks electoral changes to the present, and explores some of the most significant components contributing to partisan change. Supported by a host of detailed tables and figures, this book pairs a strong historical foundation with an in-depth analysis of the contemporary region.

Table of Content

Tables, Figures, and Boxes

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Chapter 1. The Long Arc of Southern Political History

Overview of the Book

Explanations of Southern Political Change

Chapter 2. Before a “Solid South”

1868 to 1900: The Relentless Work of Democratic “Redemption”

Northern Republicanism in the South

The End of Reconstruction

An Unstable Interlude

Populist Threat and Its Removal

Summary of a Most Politically Volatile Period

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 3. Democratic Past

Origins of the Solid South

The Timing and Tools of Disfranchisement

The (White) Primary System

The 1930s: Democracy Heads North

The 1948 Election: A Permanent Fissure in the Solid South

Summary of Southern Democratic Dominance

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 4. Competitive Transition

The Not-So Placid 1950s

The Tumultuous and Triumphant 1960s

The Deceptively Quiet 1970s

Reagan and the 1980s Turning Point

Summary Evidence of the Competitive Transition

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 5. Republican Present

Unintended Consequences?

Republican Control from Top to Bottom

Federal Contests

Statewide Contests

State Legislative Elections

The Peak of Republican Hegemony?

Chapter 6. Generational Change and GOP Growth

The Importance of Party Identification

Party Identification of Black Southerners

Party Identification of White Southerners

Life-Cycle, Period, and Generation Effects

Tracking Generational Change and Party Identification

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 7. Issues: Race, Economics, and Religion

Issues, Ideology, and Political Sophistication

Sorting and Polarization Within the Southern Electorate

The Big Three: Race, Economics, and Religion

Race

Economics

Religion

Summary

Chapter 8. Sectional and Locational Differences

Southern Urbanization

Deep Versus Peripheral South: An Enduring Divide

Location and a Changing South, 1950–2000

Location in the New Millennium

Voter Preferences by Subregion and Location

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 9. The Changing Southern Electorate

A Note on the Data

Racial and Ethnic Composition of the General Electorate

White Voters

Black Voters

Latino Voters

Race and Gender

The Democratic and Republican Coalitions, Then and Now

The Primary Electorate

Welcome Back Carpetbaggers! Southern In-Migrants

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 10. Republican Responses to Demographic Change

Demographic Change in the Southern Electorate

Electoral Volatility in the New Millennium

The 2010 Republican “Tsunami”

Congressional Redistricting

Jim Crow in Miniature? Restrictive Voting Laws

The Importance of Shelby County v. Holder

Summary

Chapter 11. The South in Comparative Perspective

Election Patterns in the South and Non-South

Party Identification in the South and Non-South

Voter Preferences in Recent Elections

Enduring Southern Exceptionalism

Chapter 12. The Future of Southern Politics

The Old Southern Politics

A Longitudinal Look at Party Competition

The Re-Segregation of Southern Politics

Demographic Change and Democratic Promise

Final Thoughts

References

Notes

Index

About the author

Seth C. Mc Kee is associate professor of political science at Texas Tech University. Mc Kee is the current Editor in Chief of Political Research Quarterly and a member of the editorial boards of American Politics Research and Political Behavior. His primary area of research focuses on American electoral politics and especially party system change in the American South. He has published numerous articles on such topics as political participation, public opinion, voter preferences, redistricting, party switching, minority representation, strategic voting behavior, and state legislator voting behavior. Mc Kee is the author of Republican Ascendancy in Southern U.S. House Elections (Westview Press 2010) and the editor of Jigsaw Puzzle Politics in the Sunshine State (University Press of Florida 2015).