Although the literature on cyclical majorities is extensive, there is
a paucity of empirical examinations of real world elections with mass
electorates. This brief article attempts such an analysis. Using CPS d
ata, I address the issue of intransitivities in social preferences for
candidates in US presidential elections from 1972 to 1984. It is argu
ed that (a) there were clear Condorcet winners in each of the four ele
ctions in question, and (b) that in each case collective preferences w
ere ideologically constrained.