Partisanship and Group Voting II

POLS 4349Dr. Brian William Smith

Office Hours

• When– Today- 11-2– Wed No Office Hours– And by appointment

• Doyle 226B• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzaxUF0k18

Learning Outcomes I

• Evaluate how people develop political opinions and how this impacts their political behavior.

• Evaluate and interpret the importance of partisanship in shaping political opinion and vote choice

• Identify and describe the formal and informal institutions involved in the electoral process

Readings

• Chapter 4: Partisans and Partisan Change (Flanigan)

• Chapter 5: Social Characteristics of Partisans and Independents (Flanigan)

For Groups to Matter

• It has to be big

• It has to come out and vote

• It has to be Loyal

SOCIAL CLASSNot That Important

Why not social class

• The shared belief in equality of opportunity

• We have never had an appreciable socialist movement

• People identify with other groups before class

Measuring Social Class

• We ask people which class they belong to– We are very likely to say middle class

• Within Social classes there are great variations in income

• Our partisanship doesn’t change with rising or lowering class.

Social Class and Partisanship

Republicans• Do better with poor whites in

the South

• Do better with Upper Middle Class voters

• Historically have done better with Middle Class voters

Democrats• Do better with poor and

working class

• Do better with the very wealthiest

• Do better with Union Members

AGEThere is a Difference

Not as Big a Deal

• Age is not as important as other factors in determining partisanship

• Young voters tend to be less interested in the system

• Young voters tend to be more Democratic

RACE AND ETHNICITY

The American Electorate

• Race is more important than class

• African Americans form a political self-conscious group. And Identify with the Democratic Party

African American Turnout

• This has increased since the 1960’s

• African Americans are heavily Democratic

• Important swing voters in battleground states

Hispanic Voters

• The Fastest growing and largest ethnicity

• Increasingly Democratic since 2000

• Key in CO, FL, NM in 2008

GENDER

Facts on the Ground

• Women vote more than men

• The Gender Gap– Women vote more for Democratic Candidates

– Issue ownership

Size of the Gender Gap

• Ranges from 5-10 Points

• Security Moms in 2004

• Obama wins both men and women

Married vs. Single Women

• Married women vote more Republican

• Self-Identified Feminists are very Democratic

Ideology

A way of looking at Politics

What is an Ideology

• A set of Fundamental beliefs about government and politics

• They fit together into some consistent and coherent view of the political world

• How should government work?

Identifying Ideologies

• Americans are able to identify themselves

• Americans are able to identify the relative ideological positions of the parties.

More Moderates and Conservatives

It is Not the Same as Party Identification!

It Tends to be stable

Figure 4.8 The public’s policy “mood,” 1952–2008

College Kids Tend to Be Liberal

Ideologies vary on Issues

Ideologies vary on Social Issues in Particular

Many voters Cannot Use Ideology Meaningfully

• Very Few of us are Politically sophisticated

• Most of us group ideology based on the likes and dislikes of the parties and candidates they represent

• A lot of us have no issue content whatsoever

Correspondence of Ideological Self-Ratings and Summary of Positions on Ten Issues,

2008

Levels of Political Conceptualization, 1956–2000