realigning elections

Question 1

what’s a realigning election?

Answer 1

a significant shift in the partisan alignment of certain social groups, from one party to another, usually triggered by a crisis/historical change

Question 2

why was the 1932 election a realigning election?

Answer 2

-people were fed up with `hoover (rep) due to the aftermath of the 1929 wall street crash and subsequent depression
-republicans had dominated almost the entire presidency since 1860
-Roosevelt promised a ‘New Deal’, which created a new deal coalition of voters, which attracted white protestants, southern and western states, the working class etc
-roosevelt won

Question 3

why was the 1968 election a realigning election?

Answer 3

-many societal tensions leading up to the election e.g. Vietnam war, civil rights concerns after the murder of martin luther king jr
-Nixon used the ‘southern strategy’ as he thought winning over the southern states would be key to republican victory. this involved him appealing to the prevailing views of many Southerners on issues such as civil rights, states rights, and the role of the federal government.
-can be seen as realigning as typically people in the south voted democrat, but this election showed them shifting to republican, which allowed Nixon to win