Counter Realignment

“In Counter Realignment, Howard Reiter and Jeffrey Stonecash show readers how the once heavily Republican Northeast has become a principal stronghold of the modern Democratic party. Their book is a valuable assessment of a little-studied topic.” —Earl Black, Rice University, co-author of Divided America: The Ferocious Power Struggle in American Politics
“Howard L. Reiter and Jeffrey M. Stonecash persuasively explain the hugely diminished appeal of the national Republican Party in the Northeast. When the electoral base of the national Republican Party shifted to the West and South, the GOP’s new emphasis on conservative social issues alienated many moderate Republicans and independents in the Northeast. This valuable book shows how understanding the ‘counter realignment’ of the Northeast helps us better understand the national party battle. —Merle Black, Emory University, co-author of The Rise of Southern Republicans
“An authoritative analysis of a much-neglected subject, Counter Realignment tells the engaging story of how the Republicans lost the Northeast. It is a topic that speaks to twentieth-century political history, party politics (and in particular, the strategizing of party elites), and of course the Northeastern region of the United States.” —John Gerring, Boston University
“Reiter and Stonecash explore profitably a seldom studied antithesis to the Solid Democratic South trending Republican—the Northeast shedding strong Republican ties over the 20th century to become heavily Democratic in the elections of the 1990s and 2000s. They investigate this historical arc by focusing on social and demographic changes that netted Democratic gains and discussing the strategic choices of Republican elites that worked to erode support in the region. This well-crafted work on partisan trends in the Northeast has much to offer those who seek to understand the dynamics of political change.” —Harold W. Stanley, Southern Methodist University