The results of recent national elections in the United States have followed a clear pattern: Democrats have dominated presidential elections while Republicans have dominated congressional and especially House elections. …
Our analysis indicates that the recent Republican “lock” on the House of Representatives is best explained by the inefficient distribution of Democratic voters combined with a new phenomenon in American politics — the rise of strong partisanship. Strong partisanship refers to a situation in which the partisan identities of voters are strongly related to other salient and political characteristics. When this happens, supporters of each party perceive supporters of the opposing party as very different from themselves in terms of their social characteristics and fundamental values. CONT.
Alan I. Abramowitz & Steven Webster (Emory), Sabato’s Crystal Ball