African American candidates for state and federal office in the United States face unique challenges, given the nation's complicated racial dynamics. To date, there have been only two elected African American governors in the country, the first elected in Virginia in 1989 and the second in Massachusetts in 2006. While Black candidates running statewide have been elected in increasing numbers in many areas of the country, there have been fewer successes in the US South. The relative lack of success in the South for Black candidates is puzzling given that, as a percentage of the population, the South has the highest concentration of African American citizens. This book examines the campaigns of Black statewide candidates in the South to untangle the factors that led to their electoral successes as well as the factors that continue to stymie positive electoral results. Looking at broader regional demographic and political trends, the authors project that the South is on the threshold of a major breakthrough for African American statewide candidates, who will have a substantial role in not only fundamentally changing the political dynamics of the region, but the nation as well. This change will be driven not only by Black candidates and voters, but a rising regional coalition of racial minority and white voters who are increasingly willing to vote for Black candidates.

This authoritative overview of election redistricting at the congressional, state legislative, and local level provides offers an overview of redistricting for students and practitioners. The updated second edition pays special attention to the significant redistricting controversies of the last decade, from the Supreme Court to state courts.

The death of Georgia governor-elect Eugene Talmadge in late 1946 launched a constitutional crisis that ranks as one of the most unusual political events in U.S. history: the state had three active governors at once, each claiming that he was the true elected official. This is the first full-length examination of that episode, which wasn't just a crazy quirk of Georgia politics (though it was that) but the decisive battle in a struggle between the state's progressive and rustic forces that had continued since the onset of the Great Depression. In 1946, rural forces aided by the county unit system, Jim Crow intimidation of black voters, and the Talmadge machine's "loyal 100,000" voters united to claim the governorship. In the aftermath, progressive political forces in Georgia would shrink into obscurity for the better part of a generation. In this volume is the story of how the political, governmental, and Jim Crow social institutions not only defeated Georgia's progressive forces but forestalled their effectiveness for a decade and a half.

African American candidates for state and federal office in the United States face unique challenges, given the nation's complicated racial dynamics. To date, there have been only two elected African American governors in the country, the first elected in Virginia in 1989 and the second in Massachusetts in 2006. While Black candidates running statewide have been elected in increasing numbers in many areas of the country, there have been fewer successes in the US South. The relative lack of success in the South for Black candidates is puzzling given that, as a percentage of the population, the South has the highest concentration of African American citizens. This book examines the campaigns of Black statewide candidates in the South to untangle the factors that led to their electoral successes as well as the factors that continue to stymie positive electoral results. Looking at broader regional demographic and political trends, the authors project that the South is on the threshold of a major breakthrough for African American statewide candidates, who will have a substantial role in not only fundamentally changing the political dynamics of the region, but the nation as well. This change will be driven not only by Black candidates and voters, but a rising regional coalition of racial minority and white voters who are increasingly willing to vote for Black candidates.

The unique political history of the Southern United States is rooted in the fact that it is the only region to have ever taken up arms against the national government. While the resources of the North prevailed after the four bloody years of the Civil War, the consequences of the practice of slavery and the bitter loss experienced by the South continue to shape southern politics a century and a half later. The twenty-three essays included in The Oxford Handbook of Southern Politics present a definitive view of the factors that contribute to this region's distinctive politics, examining these factors in the context of the South's political development since World War II. Following an introductory essay by editors Charles S. Bullock III and Mark J. Rozell, five chapters survey the past seventy-five years of the region's political history, looking in particular at the Civil Rights Movement, urbanization of the South, and the area's economy and changing demographics. Four chapters will then take a closer look at the influence of particular demographics, including religious conservatives, women, and Latinos. This will be followed by chapters on the rise of the Republican Party, southern political attitudes, and political and economic development in the Southern Black Belt. Subsequent chapters will examine political parties, voting and elections, including party organizations and activists, the mainstreaming of the Republican Party, realignment, party building, and Deep South politics. The five chapters of the final section will look at the South's impact on national politics, at the executive and congressional levels, legislatively and on the nation more generally.

On June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, invalidating a key provision of voting rights law. The decision - the culmination of an eight-year battle over the power of Congress to regulate state conduct of elections - marked the closing of a chapter in American politics. That chapter had opened a century earlier in the case of Guinn v. United States, which ushered in national efforts to knock down racial barriers to the ballot. A detailed and timely history, The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act analyzes changing legislation and the future of voting rights in the United States. In tracing the development of the Voting Rights Act from its inception, Charles S. Bullock III, Ronald Keith Gaddie, and Justin J. Wert begin by exploring the political and legal aspects of the Jim Crow electoral regime. Detailing both the subsequent struggle to enact the law and its impact, they explain why the Voting Rights Act was necessary. The authors draw on court cases and election data to bring their discussion to the present with an examination of the 2006 revision and renewal of the act, and its role in shaping the southern political environment in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, when Barack Obama was chosen. Bullock, Gaddie, and Wert go on to closely evaluate the 2013 Shelby County decision, describing how the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court created an appellate environment that made the act ripe for a challenge. Rigorous in its scholarship and thoroughly readable, this book goes beyond history and analysis to provide compelling and much-needed insight into the ways voting rights legislation has shaped the United States. The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act illuminates the historical roots - and the human consequences - of a critical chapter in U.S. legal history.

In recent years, interest in religion and politics at the national level has surged while extensive activity at the state level has gone largely unnoticed. Yet, with state government budgets increasing exponentially over the past three decades, churches and religious organizations are focusing tremendous energy and resources toward influencing the ways states are spending their money and governing their populace. In this groundbreaking collection, Edward Cleary and Allen Hertzke bring together nine new essays that provide the first systematic, comparative view of religion and politics at the state level. These essays take an in-depth look at the pressing issues facing states across the nation and how religious lobbies and organizations are addressing them. By examining the responses of different denominations and their rationales for involvement, the contributors explore the enormous diversity of interests being represented at the state level. As highly controversial programs and laws continue to divide state governments, Representing God at the Statehouse provides an important look at the current state of religion and democracy.

Shifting the focal point from incumbency to open seat competition in the U.S. House of Representatives is the task this book embraces. In the process, the authors demonstrate the importance of candidates and competition, and the role of money, gender, and special elections in determining how open seats get filled and when partisan changes occur.

A strong case can be made that the South has had the greatest impact of any region on the transformation of U.S. politics and government. Since 1968, we have seen the demise of the "solid (Democratic) South" and the rise of the Republican-dominated South; the rise of the largely southern white evangelical religious right movement; and demographic changes that have vastly altered the political landscape of the region and national politics. Overriding all of these changes is the major constant of southern politics: race. Since the 1990s, the Republican Party has dominated politics in the Southern United States. Race relations were a large factor in this shift that began about a half century ago, but nonetheless, race and demographic change are once again realigning party politics in the region, this time back toward an emergent Democratic Party. Membership in the Southern Democratic Party is majority African American, Latino, and Asian, and rapidly expanding with an influx of immigrants, primarily Latino. While race continues to shape politics in the region, population growth is, as this book argues, the major factor affecting politics in the South. In fact, the populations of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have grown more rapidly than the population of the nation as a whole over the past half century-and each of these states has gained at least one seat in Congress. These growth states are the ones in which populations are diversifying, economies are surging, and Democrats are making headway. They, along with Florida and Texas, are also among the most competitive states with the largest numbers of Electoral College votes in the region. It is likely, therefore, that among the key battlegrounds for determining the presidency will be the southern states with the fastest growing populations. This will especially be the case once the Latino population in Texas mobilizes. This book describes and analyzes the ways in which demographic change has shaped politics in the South since the late 1960s and may enable the Democratic Party in the future to re-take politics in the region, and even shut out Republicans from the nation's highest office.

A strong case can be made that the South has had the greatest impact of any region on the transformation of U.S. politics and government. Since 1968, we have seen the demise of the "solid (Democratic) South" and the rise of the Republican-dominated South; the rise of the largely southern white evangelical religious right movement; and demographic changes that have vastly altered the political landscape of the region and national politics. Overriding all of these changes is the major constant of southern politics: race. Since the 1990s, the Republican Party has dominated politics in the Southern United States. Race relations were a large factor in this shift that began about a half century ago, but nonetheless, race and demographic change are once again realigning party politics in the region, this time back toward an emergent Democratic Party. Membership in the Southern Democratic Party is majority African American, Latino, and Asian, and rapidly expanding with an influx of immigrants, primarily Latino. While race continues to shape politics in the region, population growth is, as this book argues, the major factor affecting politics in the South. In fact, the populations of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have grown more rapidly than the population of the nation as a whole over the past half century-and each of these states has gained at least one seat in Congress. These growth states are the ones in which populations are diversifying, economies are surging, and Democrats are making headway. They, along with Florida and Texas, are also among the most competitive states with the largest numbers of Electoral College votes in the region. It is likely, therefore, that among the key battlegrounds for determining the presidency will be the southern states with the fastest growing populations. This will especially be the case once the Latino population in Texas mobilizes. This book describes and analyzes the ways in which demographic change has shaped politics in the South since the late 1960s and may enable the Democratic Party in the future to re-take politics in the region, and even shut out Republicans from the nation's highest office.

On June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, invalidating a key provision of voting rights law. The decision - the culmination of an eight-year battle over the power of Congress to regulate state conduct of elections - marked the closing of a chapter in American politics. That chapter had opened a century earlier in the case of Guinn v. United States, which ushered in national efforts to knock down racial barriers to the ballot. A detailed and timely history, The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act analyzes changing legislation and the future of voting rights in the United States. In tracing the development of the Voting Rights Act from its inception, Charles S. Bullock III, Ronald Keith Gaddie, and Justin J. Wert begin by exploring the political and legal aspects of the Jim Crow electoral regime. Detailing both the subsequent struggle to enact the law and its impact, they explain why the Voting Rights Act was necessary. The authors draw on court cases and election data to bring their discussion to the present with an examination of the 2006 revision and renewal of the act, and its role in shaping the southern political environment in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, when Barack Obama was chosen. Bullock, Gaddie, and Wert go on to closely evaluate the 2013 Shelby County decision, describing how the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court created an appellate environment that made the act ripe for a challenge. Rigorous in its scholarship and thoroughly readable, this book goes beyond history and analysis to provide compelling and much-needed insight into the ways voting rights legislation has shaped the United States. The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act illuminates the historical roots - and the human consequences - of a critical chapter in U.S. legal history.

This book will prepare readers for the redistricting of congressional, state legislative, and local collegial bodies that will follow the 2010 Census. Almost every state legislature will devote extensive time to redrawing its own districts along with the state's congressional districts during 2011-2012. Chapters 2 through 5 cover the major factors involved in drawing the new maps. These are arranged in the order of their legal prominence beginning with the need for equal populations before moving to the obligation to avoid discriminating against minorities. Chapter 4 examines the other elements weighed by those redrawing districts: compactness, respect for political boundaries and communities of interest. Chapter 5 deals with partisan considerations and consequences of redistricting. More than any other state, Georgia has probably been the locale for more precedent-setting cases and had more difficulty securing Department of Justice approval of its districting plans. Chapter 6 uses Georgia as a case study to demonstrate the application of a number of concepts discussed in the preceding four chapters. The seventh chapter provides a preview of the post-2010 redistricting with a discussion of projections of likely congressional reapportionment. The final chapter also considers how the changes in the Voting Rights Act adopted in 2006 may affect the next round of redistricting.

This book will prepare readers for the redistricting of congressional, state legislative, and local collegial bodies that will follow the 2010 Census. Almost every state legislature will devote extensive time to redrawing its own districts along with the state's congressional districts during 2011-2012. Chapters 2 through 5 cover the major factors involved in drawing the new maps. These are arranged in the order of their legal prominence beginning with the need for equal populations before moving to the obligation to avoid discriminating against minorities. Chapter 4 examines the other elements weighed by those redrawing districts: compactness, respect for political boundaries and communities of interest. Chapter 5 deals with partisan considerations and consequences of redistricting. More than any other state, Georgia has probably been the locale for more precedent-setting cases and had more difficulty securing Department of Justice approval of its districting plans. Chapter 6 uses Georgia as a case study to demonstrate the application of a number of concepts discussed in the preceding four chapters. The seventh chapter provides a preview of the post-2010 redistricting with a discussion of projections of likely congressional reapportionment. The final chapter also considers how the changes in the Voting Rights Act adopted in 2006 may affect the next round of redistricting.

Most members of Congress begin their careers through regularly scheduled elections, but terms may be cut short due to death, scandal, or different career opportunities. In these cases, special elections are held to fill vacancies. In fact, a number of prominent political figures, including Lyndon Johnson, Nancy Pelosi, and John Dingell, began their long and distinguished careers through special election to Congress. While the media often look to special elections as a way of measuring public sentiment on presidential performance, even though voter turnout tends to be significantly lower than in regular elections, these events have rarely attracted academic attention. Oftentimes, studies of these contests lead to generalizations about how a party should proceed if it hopes to wrest a seat away from the opposition in a special election. This book is the first large-scale scholarly treatment of special elections: both in terms of explaining what factors influence outcomes and in determining whether special elections are bellwethers for general elections. Charles S. Bullock, III and Karen L. Owen argue that special elections offer parties a testing ground for messaging and strategies for mobilizing voters in anticipation of general elections. Moreover, these elections provide opportunities for diversification of Congress as reduced commitment to resources for campaigning has led more women and candidates of color to compete in them-and win. Based on 75 years of data, the authors closely examine several competitive special elections during the first two years of the Trump era and quantitatively assess the almost 300 House special elections held since World War II.

Now in its seventh edition, The New Politics of the Old South is the best and most comprehensive analysis and history of political behaviors and shifting demographics in America's southern states. Edited by leading scholars Charles S. Bullock III and Mark J. Rozell, this book has been updated through the 2020 elections to provide the most accurate and useful snapshot of the state of southern politics, and the ways in which they have developed over time. The southern electorate is a fascinating, dynamic body politic, and the study of its evolution is paramount to understanding the broader political developments occurring at a national level. While accessible to any interested reader, this edition illuminates the South's essential and growing role in the study, and the story, of American politics. This new edition addresses the change in the organization of the states chapters from "Deep South" and "Rim South" to instead "growth states" and "stagnant states," and focuses on how the main divisions among the southern states now impacting their politics are economic and population growth.

The 2020 Presidential Election in the South details how the 2020 presidential election developed in the twelve states of the South. This edited volume features preeminent scholars of Southern politics who analyze the momentous Election of 2020. In addition to chapters organized by state, this volume also focuses upon the issues that drove southern voters, the nominations process in early 2020, as well as a chapter focusing on where the region may be headed politically in the next decade. In addition, each state chapter includes analysis on notable congressional races and important patterns at the state level. The authors also provide keen insight into the ever-changing political patterns in the region. Since the South continues to evolve in terms of politics and demographic shifts, this book will be an important tool for academics. However, the book will also enlighten journalists and political enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of contemporary changes in Southern electoral politics.

Now in its seventh edition, The New Politics of the Old South is the best and most comprehensive analysis and history of political behaviors and shifting demographics in America’s southern states. Edited by leading scholars Charles S. Bullock III and Mark J. Rozell, this book has been updated through the 2020 elections to provide the most accurate and useful snapshot of the state of southern politics, and the ways in which they have developed over time. The southern electorate is a fascinating, dynamic body politic, and the study of its evolution is paramount to understanding the broader political developments occurring at a national level. While accessible to any interested reader, this edition illuminates the South’s essential and growing role in the study, and the story, of American politics. This new edition addresses the change in the organization of the states chapters from “Deep South” and “Rim South” to instead “growth states” and “stagnant states," and focuses on how the main divisions among the southern states now impacting their politics are economic and population growth.

The 2020 Presidential Election in the South details how the 2020 presidential election developed in the twelve states of the South. This edited volume features preeminent scholars of Southern politics who analyze the momentous Election of 2020. In addition to chapters organized by state, this volume also focuses upon the issues that drove southern voters, the nominations process in early 2020, as well as a chapter focusing on where the region may be headed politically in the next decade. In addition, each state chapter includes analysis on notable congressional races and important patterns at the state level. The authors also provide keen insight into the ever-changing political patterns in the region. Since the South continues to evolve in terms of politics and demographic shifts, this book will be an important tool for academics. However, the book will also enlighten journalists and political enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of contemporary changes in Southern electoral politics.

This authoritative overview of election redistricting at the congressional, state legislative, and local level provides offers an overview of redistricting for students and practitioners. The updated second edition pays special attention to the significant redistricting controversies of the last decade, from the Supreme Court to state courts.

The death of Georgia governor-elect Eugene Talmadge in late 1946 launched a constitutional crisis that ranks as one of the most unusual political events in U.S. history: the state had three active governors at once, each claiming that he was the true elected official. This is the first full-length examination of that episode, which wasn't just a crazy quirk of Georgia politics (though it was that) but the decisive battle in a struggle between the state's progressive and rustic forces that had continued since the onset of the Great Depression. In 1946, rural forces aided by the county unit system, Jim Crow intimidation of black voters, and the Talmadge machine's "loyal 100,000" voters united to claim the governorship. In the aftermath, progressive political forces in Georgia would shrink into obscurity for the better part of a generation. In this volume is the story of how the political, governmental, and Jim Crow social institutions not only defeated Georgia's progressive forces but forestalled their effectiveness for a decade and a half.

John Engler, former Governor of Michigan, once claimed that redistricting is one of the purest actions a legislative body can take. Academicians and political leaders alike, however, have regularly debated the ideal way by to redistrict national and state legislatures. Rather than being the pure process that Governor Engler envisioned, redistricting has led to repeated court battles waged on such traditional democratic values as one person, one vote, and minority rights. Instead of being an opportunity to help ensure maximum representation for the citizens, the process has become a cat and mouse game in many states with citizen representation seemingly the farthest idea from anyone's mind. From a purely political perspective, those in power in the state legislature at the time of redistricting largely act like they have unilateral authority to do as they please. In this volume, contributors discuss why such an assumption is concerning in the modern political environment.

John Engler, former Governor of Michigan, once claimed that redistricting is one of the purest actions a legislative body can take. Academicians and political leaders alike, however, have regularly debated the ideal way by to redistrict national and state legislatures. Rather than being the pure process that Governor Engler envisioned, redistricting has led to repeated court battles waged on such traditional democratic values as one person, one vote, and minority rights. Instead of being an opportunity to help ensure maximum representation for the citizens, the process has become a cat and mouse game in many states with citizen representation seemingly the farthest idea from anyone's mind. From a purely political perspective, those in power in the state legislature at the time of redistricting largely act like they have unilateral authority to do as they please. In this volume, contributors discuss why such an assumption is concerning in the modern political environment.

The 2010 elections were one of the most highly anticipated midterm elections in our nation's recent history. After the historic 2008 election, in which America elected its first black president, Sarah Palin's involvement and the emergence of the Tea Party in the 2010 congressional elections had the potential to transform the composition of congress and set the stage for the nation's politics for the next decade, or even the next generation. In this new edited volume, Charles S. Bullock III collects original contributions from top political scientists to evaluate Sarah Palin and the Tea Party's role in the 2010 midterm elections. Key States, High Stakes focuses on states where Republicans had the chance to pick up Senate seats, as well as examining GOP Senate primaries if they involved a Palin or a Tea Party nominee facing an establishment favorite. Bullock concludes the anthology with a chapter on the legacy of the Tea Party and of Sarah Palin on American politics. One thing is certain. In terms of control of the House and Senate (and its effect on President Obama's policy agenda), the prospects for the 2012 presidential race, and the long-term viability of the Tea Party movement, the stakes in the 2010 midterm elections could not have been higher.

The last presidential election showed without a doubt the prominence of the Southern states in the national political landscape. When it first appeared in 1998, The New Politics of the Old South broke new ground by examining Southern political trends at the end of the twentieth century. Now in its third edition, with all chapters extensively revised and updated to cover events up through the 2004 elections, the authors continue their unique state-by-state analysis of political behavior. Written by the country's leading scholars of Southern politics, and designed to be adopted for courses on Southern politics (but accessible to any interested reader), this book traces the shifting trends of the Southern electorate and explains its growing influence on the course of national politics.