CLASS POLARIZATION IN PARTISANSHIP AMONG NATIVE SOUTHERN WHITES, 1952-90

Multivariate analyses of National Elections Studies data reveal that c lass-based partisanship of native southern whites, absent or inverted in the past, has surfaced in the past 15 years. In the 1950s, the high er the status of a native southern white, the more likely the individu al was to identify as a Democrat. No clear class basis for partisanshi p prevailed in the 1960s and early 1970s. Since the mid-1970s, class p olarization typical of the rest of the nation has characterized native southern whites, with higher status individuals favoring Republican i dentification.