ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses competing conceptualizations of party identification and then presents a historical and theoretical account of the events that led to an increase in the Republican identification of southern whites. The traditional view of party identification, as espoused and promoted by the authors of The American Voter, came under attack by revisionist scholars in the mid-1970s. The long-term trend exhibiting an increase in Republican partisanship among southern whites has its roots in the complex interaction between elected representatives/candidates and the electorate. The traditional and revisionist conceptualizations of party identification (party ID) are both relevant to understanding the dynamic of partisan change when a realigning period commences. The effect of age on Republican identification can also be evaluated by segmenting the southern electorate into generational cohorts. As Stimson points out, party primaries become a fundamental mechanism for recalibrating party identification according to voters' preferences concerning the new issue that splits the parties.
