2022/01/01 by Alan I. Abramowitz · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation
paper · doi:10.1002/polq.13388
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES have changed dramatically since the publication of Philip Converse's seminal work on ideological thinking in the American electorate in the 1950s and 1960s.1 The ideological divide between Democratic and Republican elites in Washington and in most states has turned into a deep chasm in the twenty-first century. There is no longer any ideological overlap between the parties in Congress as liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats have disappeared and moderates have become an endangered species.2 At the same time, elections have become highly nationalized, with voters increasingly basing their House and Senate choices on their feelings toward the national parties and their leaders, especially the president.3 As ticket splitting has fallen to its lowest level in decades, the electoral advantage of incumbency has shrunk considerably.4 These changes in the party system and elections have coincided with equally dramatic changes in the political attitudes of ordinary Americans. In recent years, a growing share of Americans have come to see politics as a form of warfare, with elections viewed as contests between the forces of good and evil. Partisans increasingly view supporters of the opposing party not as opponents but as enemies: bad actors who want to inflict harm on the nation and who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.5