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The County Boss in Statewide Elections: A Multivariate Analysis of Georgia's Bifactional Politics
Author(s) -
Bullock Charles S.,
McClellan Jessica L.
Publication year - 2004
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.1747-1346.2004.tb00203.x
Subject(s) - boss , opposition (politics) , politics , multivariate analysis , multivariate statistics , political science , public administration , law , engineering , statistics , mechanical engineering , mathematics
Seven statewide elections from Georgia's bifactional era provide the setting for an examination of the impact of alleged boss‐controlled counties on election results. This examination, using multivariate techniques, tests propositions from V. O. Key (1949) and others who observed Georgia politics at mid‐century. Results show that counties reputed to be controlled by pro‐Talmadge bosses provided exceptional support for Eugene Talmadge's campaigns from 1932 — 1946 and that counties reputed to be controlled by anti‐Talmadge bosses provided strong support for the opposition during most of this period. Counties in which bosses were reputed to switch from faction to faction in order to back the winner proved significant only in gubernatorial contests in which there was little doubt about the outcome. When boss‐controlled counties are entered into the equations, friends and neighbors' politics and regional politics are less important. The urban‐rural differentiation does, however, remain significant.