Blue Metros Red States

Assessing where the red/blue political line lies in swing states and how it is shifting Democratic-leaning urban areas in states that otherwise lean Republican is an increasingly important phenomenon in American politics, one that will help shape elections and policy for decades to come. Blue Metros, Red States explores this phenomenon by analyzing demographic trends, voting patterns, economic data, and social characteristics of twenty-seven major metropolitan areas in thirteen swing states—states that will ultimately decide who is elected president and the party that controls each chamber of Congress. The book’s key finding is a sharp split between different types of suburbs in swing states. Close-in suburbs that support denser mixeduse projects and transit such as light rail mostly vote for Democrats. More distant suburbs that feature mainly large-lot, single-family detached houses and lack mass transit often vote for Republicans. The book locates the red/blue dividing line and assesses the electoral state of play in every swing state. This red/blue political line is rapidly shifting, however, as suburbs urbanize and grow more demographically diverse. Blue Metros, Red States is especially timely as the 2020 elections draw near.

The State of the Parties 2022 brings together leading scholars of parties, elections, and interest groups to provide an indispensable overview of American political parties today. The 2020 presidential election was extraordinary. What role did political parties play in these events? How did the party organizations fare? What are the implications for the future? Scholars and practitioners from throughout the United States explore the current state of American party organizations, constituencies and resources at the national, state and local level.

This book analyzes both local and national House and Senate campaigns in the 2022 midterm elections to reveal how distinctive campaign dynamics have a collective national impact. Despite serious efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race that went mostly unopposed by Republicans, the GOP is poised to gain seats, and perhaps control of Congress less than two years later. Their efforts to accomplish this feat may be explained by the biannual pattern of surging and declining partisan electorates that political scientists have long used to explain election outcomes. But in an era where global pandemic lingers, inflation hit its highest rate in two generations, Wall Street faces its first bear market in more than a decade, war among developed nations has returned to the international stage, and efforts by a former President to maintain his grip on a party that lost the 2020 popular vote by 9 million proved largely successful, the story is clearly more complicated. The 2022 midterms thus arrive on the heels of unprecedented developments for democracy in America. The Roads to Congress 2022 provides an essential guide to understanding these developments, with thematic chapters authored by more than thirty experts in campaigns and elections that explore the evolving state of party politics, electoral governance, redistricting, participation and representation, and profile the key races of the season.

America's polarized politics are largely disconnected from mainstream public preferences. This disconnect poses fundamental dangers for the representativeness and accountability of government, as well as the already withering public trust in it. As the 2008 presidential race kicks into gear, the political climate certainly will not become less polarized. With important issues to address—including immigration policy, health care, and the funding of the Iraq war—it is critical that essential policies not be hostage to partisan political battles. Building upon the findings of the first volume of Red and Blue Nation? (Brookings, 2006), which explored the extent of political polarization and its potential causes, this new volume delves into the consequences of the gulf between "red states" and "blue states." The authors examine the impact of these political divisions on voter behavior, Congressional law-making, judicial selection, and foreign policy formation. They shed light on hotly debated institutional reform proposals—including changes to the electoral system and the congressional rules of engagement—and ultimately present research-supported policies and reforms for alleviating the underlying causes of political polarization. While most discussion of polarization takes place in separate spheres of journalism and academia, Red and Blue Nation? brings together a unique set of voices with a wide variety of perspectives to enrich our understanding of the issue. Written in a broad, accessible style, it is a resource for anyone interested in the future of electoral politics in America. Contributors include Marc Hetherington and John G. Geer (Vanderbilt University), Deborah Jordan Brooks (Dartmouth College), Martin P. Wattenberg (University of California, Irvine), Barbara Sinclair and Joel D. Aberbach (UCLA), Christopher H. Foreman (University of Maryland), Keith Krehbiel (Stanford University), Sarah A. Binder, Benjamin Wittes, Jonathan Rauch, and William A. Galston (Brookings), Martin Shapiro (University of California–Berkeley), Peter Beinart (Council on Foreign Relations), James Q. Wilson (Pepperdine University), John Ferejohn and Larry Diamond (Hoover Institution), Laurel Harbridge (Stanford University), Andrea L. Campbell (MIT), and Eric M. Patashnik (University of Virginia).

Jacob and Schultz examine in this new and updated volume the phenomena of presidential swing states in the 2016 US presidential election. They explore the reasons why some states and, now counties, seem repeatedly to be the focus of candidate attention and capable of voting for either of the major candidates and being decisive in determining who wins the presidency.

This edited volume examines how COVID-19 impacted political inequality, social inequality, and the wellbeing of people in the United States. Various theories, methods, outcomes, and potential solutions are discussed to create a cross-discipline narrative on this topic.

The ninth edition of this popular text has been expanded and updated to better fit the needs of a stand-alone Texas politics course. Jillson continues to approach the politics of the Lone Star State from historical, developmental, and analytical perspectives, while giving students the most even-handed, readable, and engaging description of Texas politics available today. Students are encouraged to connect the origins and development of government and politics in Texas to its current practice and the alternatives possible through change and reform. This text helps instructors prepare their students to master the origin and development of the Texas Constitution, the structure and powers of state and local government in Texas, how Texas fits into the U.S. federal system, as well as political participation, the electoral process, and public policy in Texas. An author-written Test Bank is available as Support Material on the Webpage for the book: www.routledge.com/Texas-Politics-Governing-the-Lone-Star-State/Jillson/p/book/9781032513386 Texas Politics offers instructors and students an unmatched range of pedagogical aids and tools. Each chapter opens with an engaging vignette and a series of focus questions to orient readers to the learning objectives at hand and concludes with a chapter summary, a list of key terms, review questions, suggested readings, and web resources. “Let’s Compare” boxes help students see how Texas sits alongside other states, “Texas Legends” boxes spotlight key figures in Texas political history, “Pro & Con” boxes bring conflicting political views into sharper focus; and every chapter features a timeline of important events in Texas history. New to the ninth edition • Covers the 2022 state and national elections, the 2023 legislative session, and the 2020 national elections as they affect Texas. • Highlights Governor Greg Abbott’s call for policy solutions to the vulnerability of the Texas energy grid; Texas voter eligibility laws; abortion and gun violence; and political consequences of redistricting after the wake of the 2020 census. • Provides a detailed study of the 2022–23 state budget and the taxing and spending decisions that went into it, including the school funding and property tax reforms of 2019.

Refugees from high-tax Massachusetts turned New Hampshire blue. Democratic voters from Yankee states are swamping Tennessee and Georgia. Government employees and refugees from Maryland have turned Virginia from a conservative Southern state into left-leaning Democrat territory. Escapees from California have transformed Colorado, and they’re aiming for Texas next. One state after another is turning from red to purple to blue. America is being radically changes by people leaving blue states for better living conditions and opportunities in red states—only to import to their new homes the very policies that created the misery they fled from in the first place. The direction of the change is undeniable: • A 2019 poll found that 53 percent of residents are considering leaving California on account of the exorbitant cost of living • From 2008-2018, Houston's population surged more than 15 percent, and the top metro areas of origin for those new Texas residents were Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago • Migration from blue states is changing the Texas electorate: between 2010 and 2018, votes for Democrats went up 50 percent, while Republican votes increased by just 10 percent • Boom is turning to bust in cities like Denver, as hip blue state refugees to red states raise the cost of living by voting in liberal policies The liberal invasion of the conservative states is having major impacts on our elections, our economy, and our standard of living. And yet few Americans are even aware of the trend, and fewer still have any idea of the significant implications for the future of the United States. Now, in The Liberal Invasion of Red State America, indefatigable reporter Kristin Tate delves into the data, lays out the astonishing statistics, and explores the likely consequences of this under-the-radar trend. If you want to understand the movement that is reshaping our country, read this groundbreaking book.