scholarly journals African Americans in the Republican Party: Taking the Road Less Traveled

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Phillip J. Ardoin ◽  
Ronald J. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
General Population ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
The Road ◽  
Racial Issues ◽  
Election Studies

While most African Americans identify with the Democratic Party, a small minority chooses to identify and support the party of Lincoln. However, very little is known about the demographic make-up or policy preferences of these individuals. Utilizing the 1992-2002 American National Election Studies, we provide a multivariate analysis of the demographic characteristics and policy leanings of African American Republicans. Our analysis suggests several systematic patterns regarding African Americans Republican Party identification. First, as with the general population, we find they are more likely to be male, from the South and to identify themselves as conservatives. However, unlike the general population, we find they are not more likely to maintain upper or middle incomes or to view religion as an important guide in their life. Third, we find African Americans born after 1950 are more likely to identify themselves as Republican. Fourth, we find African American Republicans feel less warmth toward blacks than the majority of their brethren and are less likely to view race or social welfare issues as significant problems in America. Ultimately, we conclude racial issues are still the key to understanding African American Partisanship.

A Discussion of Ismail K. White and Chryl N. Laird’s Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-210
Author(s):  
Michael Leo Owens
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Behavioral Norm ◽  
Black Political Behavior

Charge: As Ismail K. White and Chryl N. Laird note, collectively more than 80% of African Americans self-identify as Democrats according to surveys, and no Republican presidential candidate has won more than 13% of the Black vote since 1968. This is true despite the fact that at the individual level many African Americans are increasingly politically moderate and even conservative. Against this backdrop, what explains the enduring nature of African American support for the Democratic Party? In Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior, White and Laird answer this question by developing the concept of “racialized social constraint,” a unifying behavioral norm meant to empower African Americans as a group and developed through a shared history of struggle against oppression and for freedom and equality. White and Laird consider the historical development of this norm, how it is enforced, and its efficacy both in creating party loyalty and as a path to Black political power in the United States. On the cusp of perhaps the most consequential presidential election in American history, one for which African American turnout was crucial, we asked a range of leading political scientists to assess the relative strengths, weaknesses, and ramifications of this argument.

Who Favors Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide? The Vote on Michigan's Proposal B

2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Strate ◽  
Timothy Kiska ◽  
Marvin Zalman
Keyword(s):  
Republican Party ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Church Attendance ◽  
Personal Autonomy ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Sanctity Of Life ◽  
Initiative Process ◽  
Social Liberalism

At the November 1998 general election, Michigan citizens were given the opportunity to vote on Proposal B, an initiative that would have legalized physician-assisted suicide (PAS). PAS initiatives also have been held in Washington State, California, Oregon, and Maine, with only Oregon's passing. We use exit poll data to analyze the vote on Proposal B. Attributes associated with social liberalism—Democratic Party identification, less frequent church attendance, more education, and greater household income—led to increased odds of a “yes” vote. Attributes associated with social conservatism—Republican Party identification and frequent church attendance—led to decreased odds of a “yes” vote. Similar to the abortion issue, PAS's supporters strongly value personal autonomy, whereas its opponents strongly value the sanctity of life. Voter alignments like those in Michigan will likely appear in other states with the initiative process if PAS reaches their ballots.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
William L. Barney
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Abraham Lincoln ◽  
Political Force ◽  
National Convention ◽  
Secession Crisis ◽  
Do So ◽  
Abolition Movement

Sectional tensions over slavery persisted since the writing of the Constitution and exploded into secession and the Civil War in 1860–61. The resistance to slavery of African Americans, both enslaved and free, prodded the consciences of enough Northern whites to produce the abolition movement and emerge as a political force in its own right. Southerners recognized that the morality of slavery was at the heart of the issue and sought in vain to make Northerners acknowledge slavery as a morally just institution and allow it to grow and expand. The Northern refusal to do so fueled the rise of the Republican Party and split the Democratic Party at its national convention in the spring of 1860, setting the stage for the election of Abraham Lincoln and the outbreak of the secession crisis.

The Loneliness of the Black Republican

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Wright Rigueur
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
American Conservatism ◽  
Racial Experiences ◽  
Party Members ◽  
Black Republicans ◽  
The New Deal

Covering more than four decades of American social and political history, this book examines the ideas and actions of black Republican activists, officials, and politicians, from the era of the New Deal to Ronald Reagan's presidential ascent in 1980. Their unique stories reveal African Americans fighting for an alternative economic and civil rights movement—even as the Republican Party appeared increasingly hostile to that very idea. Black party members attempted to influence the direction of conservatism—not to destroy it, but rather to expand the ideology to include black needs and interests. As racial minorities in their political party and as political minorities within their community, black Republicans occupied an irreconcilable position—they were shunned by African American communities and subordinated by the Grand Old Party (GOP). In response, black Republicans vocally, and at times viciously, critiqued members of their race and party, in an effort to shape the attitudes and public images of black citizens and the GOP. Moving beyond traditional liberalism and conservatism, black Republicans sought to address African American racial experiences in a distinctly Republican way. This book provides a new understanding of the interaction between African Americans and the Republican Party, and the seemingly incongruous intersection of civil rights and American conservatism.

Whither the Republican Party

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey D. Fields
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Black Identity ◽  
Racial Diversity ◽  
Specific Kind ◽  
Black Republicans ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter addresses how the tensions between the different factions of African American Republicans structure relations with white Republicans. White Republicans provide the platform upon which black Republicans gain election, notoriety, and resources. The relationship is symmetrically beneficial since black Republicans provide tangible proof of racial diversity within the GOP. To maintain support among white Republicans, African Americans must talk about black identity in a way that is consistent with what white Republicans want to hear. When African-Americans call on white Republicans to speak to black interests specifically and treat conservative social policy as a basis for black advancement, relations with white Republicans are contentious and adversarial. As a consequence, a very specific kind of African American Republican rises to prominence within the GOP.

Migrant Magnets: How Movers Change the Politics of Their New Homes and the Places They Leave: The Cases of People of Blacks and Latinos

2021 ◽  
pp. 133-160
Author(s):  
Irwin L. Morris
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
High Growth ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Southern Politics ◽  
Migratory Patterns

Just as at predicts movers influence the partisan attachments and ideological orientations of white stayers, movers and stayers theory leads us to expect stayers of color to respond to movers and the broader population growth (and decline) their migratory patterns produce. However, the effects on people of color are likely to be subtler than the effects among white stayers. Likewise, people of color are likely to respond differently to community decline than whites because their baseline attachments to the Democratic Party are much stronger. African American stayers in declining communities maintain their attachment to the Democratic Party rather than shifting toward the Democratic Party rather than the Republican Party. In high-growth areas, African American stayers also become more ideologically progressive. While results for Latinos are more muted, the strikingly large proportion of Latino stayers in high-growth communities—and high-growth states—suggests they will be an increasingly important facet of 21st-century southern politics.

The “Obama Effect” Revisited

2021 ◽  
pp. 104-130
Author(s):  
Ray Block ◽  
Angela K. Lewis-Maddox
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Research Design ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Political Office ◽  
Racial Polarization

In this chapter, we examine the influence of Obama’s presence on racial divisions in partisanship. We interpret these divisions as evidence of racial polarization. Since Obama is a Democrat and because African Americans vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates in presidential elections, we define polarization as a gap in the extent to which African and Anglo Americans identify with the Democratic Party. Our focus on polarization stems from the fact that partisanship has always been a racialized concept in American politics. We ask the following questions: Was there a race gap in party identification during the Obama presidency? If so, did the former president’s media activities influence the width of this race gap? How did Obama’s media presence affect the party gap? Did the former president push Whites away from the Democratic Party (while pulling African Americans into it)? Or did Obama make racial differences in partisanship disappear? We conclude this chapter by discussing the substantive implications of our evidence and the limitations of our research design. When discussing potential avenues for research, we focus on the fact that Obama’s presidency gave race scholars the opportunity to study descriptive representation in the nation’s highest political office.

The Gender Gap Is a Race Gap: Women Voters in US Presidential Elections

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1135-1145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Junn ◽  
Natalie Masuoka
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
White Women ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
The United States ◽  
Election Study ◽  
National Election Study ◽  
American National Election Study

Scholarship on women voters in the United States has focused on the gender gap, showing that, since the 1980s, women are more likely to vote for Democratic Party candidates than men. The persistence of the gender gap has nurtured the conclusion that women are Democrats. This article presents evidence upending that conventional wisdom. It analyzes data from the American National Election Study to demonstrate that white women are the only group of female voters who support Republican Party candidates for president. They have done so by a majority in all but 2 of the last 18 elections. The relevance of race for partisan choice among women voters is estimated with data collected in 2008, 2012, and 2016, and the significance of being white is identified after accounting for political party identification and other predictors.

scholarly journals Dixie Backlash? Anti-Southern Affect and Party Support Outside the South

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 179-206
Author(s):  
Jonathan Knuckey
Keyword(s):  
Republican Party ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Vote Choice ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Partisan Change ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Party Support ◽  
Election Studies

The literature on partisan change in the American electorate has devoted considerable attention to explaining Republican gains in the South. Less time has been devoted to examining changes outside of the South, where a Democratic majority has persisted-and indeed grown-over the past two decades. This article examines whether the realignment toward the Republican Party in the South has resulted in a move toward the Democratic Party outside the South. Specifically, it is posited that the growing influence of the South within the Republican Party has resulted in a backlash against the GOP. Using data from the American National Election Studies, this article examines affect toward southerners as a determinant of the political behavior of non-southerners. Findings indicate that even after controlling for other explanatory variables, affect toward southerners is a significant predictor of how non-southerners evaluate the political parties, as well as vote choice in the 2008 presidential election. While partisanship and ideology remain the best predictors of vote choice among non-southerners, anti-southern backlash should not be discounted for the GOP's "Northern problem" in recent elections.

American Religious Traditions, Orthodoxy, and Commitment in Public Opinion toward Torture

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-59
Author(s):  
H. Whitt Kilburn ◽  
Brian J. Fogarty
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Religious Commitment ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
National Election ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Evangelical Protestants ◽  
Election Studies

AbstractThe conventional wisdom on evangelical American Protestant support for the use of torture on suspected terrorists is incorrect. With data from the 2008 American National Election Studies survey, we specify the interactive influence of religious traditions on attitudes toward torture by religious commitment and belief orthodoxy. Only at low orthodoxy, and low to average commitment, are Catholics, mainline, and black Protestants more likely to support torture than the unaffiliated; the effect for evangelical Protestants is null. Greater commitment moves most traditions and the unaffiliated toward increased opposition to torture. Stronger orthodoxy, however, leads to support for torture only for the unaffiliated. The findings persist given controls for demographic characteristics, party identification, left-right self-placement, and authoritarian values.

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