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All About Race? Electoral Politics in Mississippi
Author(s) -
Beachler Donald W.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.259
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 1555-5623
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.2001.tb00605.x
Subject(s) - race (biology) , voting , democracy , context (archaeology) , population , state (computer science) , politics , white (mutation) , political science , demographic economics , geography , demography , sociology , economics , law , gender studies , biology , biochemistry , archaeology , algorithm , computer science , gene
This article examines the degree to which county level voting patterns in Mississippi, the state with the largest African American population, are a function of race. It also tests V.O. Key's racial threat hypothesis in the context of Democratic and Republican general election contests in the state. Race remains the most important variable in explaining county level voting patterns in Mississippi. It is not, however, the only important variable in explaining county voting results. Racial threat remains an important factor in Mississippi elections. As Key hypothesized, as the percentage of African Americans in a county population increases, so does the propensity of the white electorate to vote conservatively.