Political Parties and Partisanship: A Look at the American Electorate

With less than two months remaining before Election Day, the American electorate remains deeply divided by party. Partisan attachments appear increasingly to shape voters’ perceptions of economic and social reality as well as their preferences regarding candidates and issues.

To assess this highly polarized political climate, the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs will hold the first of five roundtable discussions that will take place this fall in connection with the 2004 election campaign.

Panelists will discuss the current state of partisan attachments in the American electorate, how these attachments develop and change, and how they shape political attitudes and perceptions. In addition, panelists will also assess how partisanship affects voting behavior and whether or not “swing voters” and competitive districts are disappearing from the American political landscape.