Suburban Vote

AS SUBURBANIZATION CAME about after World War II, suburban voters initially supported Republican candidates. This was believed to be, in part, because they were upwardly mobile, not very diverse, and financially well-off. These characteristics are the same as those of Republican voters, so it was not unusual that those from the suburbs supported Republican candidates. Researchers have shown that, on average, there were more Republicans than Democrats in the suburbs initially, but this trend was not static and would swing in favor of the Democrats at times. Another seemingly important factor was the location of the suburb, as well as who was moving into the area. However, a voter's behavior is not solely controlled by where he or she lives, but also by experiences, family, friends, co-workers and groups the voter associates with.

Following the New Deal and World War II, the political system moved away from the Democraticcontrolled electorate into a more balanced split in the electorate. The increase in prosperity and the corresponding increase in economic security that occurred at this time characterize the Republican Party. The urban electorate tends to be Democratic because it tends to be made up primarily of blue-collar workers. On the other hand, the rural electorate (made up of primarily southern, white, religious people) tends to support the Republican Party. Initially all the reasons for moving to the suburbs; more room, less traffic, lower crime, and a slower pace to life, lead to the assumption that this would lead suburban voters to vote for Republican candidates.

Indeed, when viewed as a whole, initially the suburban electorate favored Republican candidates. Not every suburb was predominantly Republican, some were Democratic, while others have changed from Republican to Democratic when blue-collar workers moved in and displaced the white-collar voters who lived there. With exposure to a different political climate, it is possible that person's political alignment may shift towards that of his neighbors. Thus, as more people moved to the suburbs, it is likely that these new members would tend to adapt new political views. Also during this time, there was an ongoing increase in the percentage of the electorate from the suburbs. This increase came from more people moving to the suburbs. The inclination of the electorate in the suburbs to support Republican candidates shifted in the 1990s towards the Democratic Party.

Part of this change started in the mid-1970s as the population in the suburbs increased. The height of the Republican strength was during the Reagan administration, with support for the Republican Party being strongest in southern Suburbs. This changed in the elections of the 1990s when the Democrats gained a majority of the suburban votes. However, the margin was never very large. The question is where, and why has this change taken place. Some believe that, in part, it was driven by the perception that the Republican Party has moved to the right, while the Democratic Party has moved towards the center.

While examining voting behavior regionally, it was found that southern suburban areas were more likely, prior to the 1990s, to vote Republican. However, both northern and southern suburbs had Republican leanings through the Reagan presidency. In the 1990s, both regions then switched to supporting the [Page 770]Democratic Party. This trend changed in 2000 when the southern suburbs moved back to support for the Republican Party. While it is not clear at this time, it is possible that the support for the Democratic Party by suburban southern voters was actually support just for President Bill Clinton because he was from the south. The switch by southern suburban voters back to the Republican Party in the 2000 election would support this thought also.

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