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Presidential Elections in the South: Putting 2008 in Political Context

Branwell DuBose Kapeluck, Robert P. Steed, and Laurence W. Moreland, editors
Presidential Elections in the South: Putting 2008 in Political Context
ISBN: 978-1-58826-738-2
$67.00
2010/291 pages/LC: 2010006905
"Indispensable.... Provides invaluable insights into the future of politics in the American South."—Stephen D. Shaffer, Mississippi State University

"The 2008 presidential election demonstrated that the Solid South is a political house of cards. This excellent book shows how all of those cards—the race card, the religion card, the economic card, and the powerful trump cards of history and culture—structured the 2008 election in the region. Students of US electoral politics will want this volume at their fingertips headed into the 2012 election."—Ronald Keith Gaddie, University of Oklahoma

DESCRIPTION

You can't win the presidency without winning the South, or so the saying goes—but what does "winning the South" actually entail? How is the southern electoral landscape distinct? Presidential Elections in the South offers a comprehensive examination of the trends driving election outcomes in the region since 1948.

The authors assess the electoral significance of everything from religious conservatism, racial bias, and demographic change to party identification, challenger quality, and nomination rules at the primary level. Each chapter traces the importance of a particular issue over time, then investigates how that issue played out in the 2008 presidential election. Incorporating a thoughtful analysis of overarching themes, the book highlights unique regional dynamics within a broad national context.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Branwell DuBose Kapeluck is associate professor of political science at The Citadel and editor of A Paler Shade of Red: The 2008 Presidential Election in the South (with Laurence W. Moreland and Robert P. Steed). Robert P. Steed and Laurence W. Moreland are professors of political science at The Citadel and coeditors of The 2000 Presidential Election in the South: Partisanship and Southern Party Systems in the 21st Century.

CONTENTS

  • The Importance of the South in Presidential Politics—R.P. Steed and L.W. Moreland.
  • THE STRUCTURAL CONTEXT OF SOUTHERN PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS.
  • The Republican South—J.M. Bruce.
  • The Transformation of Southern Presidential Primaries—S.C. McKee and D. Hayes.
  • Changing Party Fortunes in the South: A Federal Perspective—R.D. Brown and J.M. Bruce.
  • DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE PARTISAN LANDSCAPE.
  • The Emerging Battleground South: Population Change and Changing Politics—S. MacManus with A.F. Quecan, D.J. Bonanza, C.J. Leddy, Jr, and B.D. McPhee
  • The Latino Vote in 2008—H.W. Stanley.
  • Generational Changes—J. Knuckey.
  • ISSUES, BELIEFS, AND RACE.
  • Issues and Party Coalitions—B.D. Kapeluck.
  • The Faith Factor—J.C. Green.
  • The Legacy of Race in 2008—J.A. Airstrup, E. Kisangani, and R.L. Piri.
  • CONCLUSION.
  • The Future of Southern Politics—J.A. Clark.