ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to illuminate the shifts in the partisan makeup of the congressional delegations from the Mountain States. It focuses on how the structure of electoral competition, policy questions, and campaign money interacted to produce a Republican surge in both the House and Senate delegations. Cumulatively radical changes lacking the coherence expected of a critical realignment raise some new and difficult questions for students of American politics. Realignments are clearest in retrospect, so the 1986 election will have a considerable impact on how trends are ultimately interpreted. Realignments are supposed to produce stable new majorities up and down the line. The most striking aspect of Mountain State House elections in recent decades is how competitive they have been. The comparatively intense level of competition in Mountain States House elections is open to a variety of explanations. Republicans have come to dominate the Mountain West's House delegation by winning and holding open seats.
