Description
Book SynopsisElection analyst Kyle Kondik examines House elections since the 1964 Supreme Court “one person, one vote” rulings to explain the Republicans' consistent advantage from their 1994 takeover to the present.
Trade Review“Kyle Kondik has the rare ability to combine real-world mastery of politics with the erudition of political science research. In The Long Red Thread, he unspools a spritely and much-needed history of the last six decades of House elections as the chamber morphed from a safe and sleepy Democratic bastion to today’s cauldron of hyper-nationalized politics.” -- Walter Shapiro, staff writer for the New Republic and Roll Call columnist
“Kyle Kondik is one of the brightest young stars in the firmament of election analysis, and his new book, The Long Red Thread, proves that anew. Kondik shows how Democrats lost their twentieth-century advantage in the critical process of redistricting, leaving Republicans with yet another arrow in their quiver for control of American politics. Kyle’s style, rich with colorful history and relevant detail, is sure to draw you in as he reveals some well-kept secrets of political power.” -- Larry J. Sabato, Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, and founder/director of the UVA Center for Politics
“In The Long Red Thread, Kyle Kondik provides an in-depth analysis of an important trend that has largely been ignored by scholars: the long-term shift in competition in US House elections that has given Republicans a narrow but significant advantage. This book is a must-read for scholars and students of contemporary American electoral politics.” -- Alan Abramowitz, Emory University, author of The Great Alignment: Race, Party Transformation and the Rise of Donald Trump
“The Long Red Thread presents a detailed but concise account of the evolution of district-level voting patterns in congressional elections since 1964 that, among other things, deftly exposes the electoral roots of Congress’s current susceptibility to stalemate and dysfunction. Anyone hoping to understand how American government arrived at its current unhappy state will find it illuminating.” -- Gary C. Jacobson, University of California, San Diego, author of Money in Congressional Elections, The Politics of Congressional Elections, and The Electoral Origins of Divided Government
“Recounting more than a half-century of electoral history, Kyle Kondik documents how partisanship and electoral advantage can be amplified through reapportionment and redistricting practices. A crucially important story of how the House electoral map that once favored Democrats now tilts toward the GOP, The Long Red Thread is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the structures that affect electoral outcomes and determine our political futures.” -- Douglas B. Harris, Loyola University Maryland, coauthor of At War with Government: How Conservatives Weaponized Distrust from Goldwater to Trump
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Foreword
Preface
Introduction From Dark Blue to Light Red
Data, Definitions, and Methodology
1. The Partisan Consequences of the Reapportionment: Revolution in the United States House of Representatives, 1964–74
2. Two The Roots of the Republican Revolution, 1976–94
3. The House from 1996 to 2020: A Persistent but not Unassailable Republican Edge
Conclusion A Half Century of Change in the House
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
