Urban Vote

SINCE THE NEW Deal era, the urban electorate has played a role in the outcome of presidential elections. The size and political importance of this electorate grew as a result of the mass migration of people from the countryside into the city; this made cities across the country the most concentrated areas of political support available to political parties.

The true importance of this concentrated population of voters was seen in those presidential elections that took place between the early 1930s and the early 1960s. During this time, the Democratic Party was the main benefactor of the urban vote, allowing it to create and implement its New Deal policies. However, since the 1960s, the ability of the urban vote to play an influential role in presidential elections has declined because of the exodus of voters from the cities to the suburbs. This suburban vote has mainly benefited the Republican Party.

Electoral realignment is inextricably linked with the urban vote and its influence on presidential elections. Electoral realignment occurs when the party in power is voted out approximately once every generation, normally after a triggering crisis, because of its inability to meet the changing needs of the electorate. Soon after a crisis, a critical election takes place. This is an election from which a realignment, which is both sudden and durable, occurs. Into this void a new party comes to power with the ability to meet the electorate's growing needs and to deal with the crisis in a manner approved of by a majority of the public. For such an election to be considered the beginning of a durable realignment, this new party must be in power for a great deal of time after its initial rise to governmental control.

In 1932, one of the major critical elections of the 20th century took place. Unlike other realignments, where a new party is created, or there is the destruction or absorption of an old party, in this realignment the parties remained the same. There was simply a change in the policies and support bases of the parties as new issues took center stage. It was in this election that President Franklin Roosevelt was able to capitalize on the growing urban electorate and bring it into the fold of the Democratic Party where it would remain for a number of years. This urban electorate was made up of the working class, as those who migrated to the city were mostly poor, seeking a living after the Great Depression hit them. Through this large block of support, President Roosevelt was able to ensure the passage and implementation of his New Deal policies. In order to keep this bloc of support loyal to Democratic presidential and congressional candidates, New Deal policies centered on the improvement of urban areas across the country and direct financial relief for urban workers.

However, once urbanites began fleeing to the suburbs, the Democratic Party lost this core of support to the Republican Party. This flight was the result of improving education, a move from menial to more professional occupations, and an increase in income, all of which allowed individuals to move out of the cities to the suburbs. Once in the suburbs, these individuals turned to the Republican Party to meet their new needs. Those fleeing to the suburbs were middle class whites, leaving the urban population mostly composed of minorities. In order to keep the urban vote alive, Democrats had to cater to the needs of minorities, which cost them votes from other blocs of support, especially southern Democrats. However, because of the necessity of keeping the urban vote in the Democratic camp and the growing opposition to segregation outside the south, the Democratic Party created a strong civil rights platform as early as the late 1940s to the early 1950s.

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