ABSTRACT
The 1992 elections ended a twelve-year period of divided party control of the U.S. national government. With the election of Bill Clinton and the maintenance of Democratic majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, an extended period of polarized and, at times, stalemated struggles over policy between Republican presidents and Democratic congressional majorities (albeit with Republican majorities in the Senate for six of those years) ceased. Except during the four years of the Carter presidency, divided party control had been the rule since 1969. Importantly, the return of unified party government occurred when U.S. governing parties are more cohesive than at any point since the early part of the twentieth century. With unified party control and a more cohesive majority party, many believed that the potential to resolve a range of policy issues had greatly improved. The experience was, however, a short-lived one as the 1994 elections returned the United States to divided party government. Although this time the division is one with Republican majorities in the House and Senate and a Democrat in the White House, the expectation is that the resolution of major issues will again be difficult.
