October 22, 2017
Now available in American Politics Research is new work from Prof. Jessica Trounstine, titled "Political Schizophrenics? Factors Affecting Aggregate Partisan Choice at the Local Versus National Level." Congratulations to Prof. Trounstine!
The paper documents the presence of "representational splits" in American elections, in which local communities support a different party for president than for local legislatures. Using a unique dataset which includes the partisanship of county councillors, the study considers what local contexts may induce such splits. Evidence is found in support of three explanations: incomplete realignment, local electoral factors, and differentials in party strength.
