Party Images in the American Electorate [Paperback]

Party affiliation has long been the driving force behind electoral politics in the United States. Despite this fact, scant attention has been devoted to the American electorates party imagesthe mental pictures that individuals have about the parties which enable citizens to translate events in the larger political environment into terms meaningful to them as individuals. Party images are central to understanding individuals political perceptions and, ultimately, voting behavior.

Party Images in the American Electoratesystematically examines the substance, evolution, and manipulation of party images within the American public over the last half century, both within the public as a whole and within important subgroups based on class, race and ethnicity, sex, and religiosity. Ultimately, this important book investigates how these party images are tied into the story of party polarization and how they affect electoral outcomes in the United States.

1. Pictures of Parties  2. Party Images in the Electorate as a Whole  3. Party Images and the Class Cleavage  4. Party Images and Race and Ethnicity  5. Party Images and Sex  6. Party Images and Religious Salience  7. Conclusion

This timely analysis moves beyond the stereotypes and demonstrates that the images Americans have of the two major parties reflect real differences that have changed over time as the parties themselves have changed. How Americans view the two major partieswhat they like and dislikeis a primary factor that shapes voter opinion and electoral decisions. Through a careful study of decades of survey research, Brewer traces the party images that have developed over time and demonstrates that substantive differences between the parties, rather than campaign tactics, are at the root of modern elections and the nation's partisan dividel.