What Is Party Realignment?

Party realignment occurs when a significant, lasting shift takes place in the coalition of voters who support a political party. It's more than one election — it's a durable transformation in which groups of voters abandon one party and consistently support another for years or decades afterward. Political scientists also talk about dealignment, when voters don't move to the opposing party but simply disconnect from party identification altogether.

Understanding realignment is essential for AP Government students because it explains how the parties we have today look so different from the parties that bore the same names 100 years ago.

Major Realignments in U.S. History

The Jacksonian Realignment (1828–1832)

The first major realignment produced the second American party system. Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party assembled a coalition of small farmers, Southern planters, and working-class urban voters. His opponents eventually became the Whig Party. This era established competitive two-party politics as the American norm.

The Civil War Realignment (1860)

Abraham Lincoln's election and the Civil War produced a dramatic shift. The Republican Party — founded in 1854 to oppose the expansion of slavery — became the dominant force for the next several decades. This is often called the Third Party System or the "System of 1896" in its mature form, during which the GOP dominated national politics while Democrats held the Solid South.

The New Deal Realignment (1932–1936)

The Great Depression shattered the Republican majority. Franklin D. Roosevelt built the New Deal Coalition — an unlikely combination of Southern white conservatives, Northern African Americans, urban ethnic immigrants, labor unions, and progressive intellectuals. This coalition kept Democrats competitive nationally for decades.

The Civil Rights Realignment (1964–1980)

The passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) under LBJ triggered the most recent major realignment. Southern white conservatives, once the backbone of the Democratic Party, migrated steadily toward the Republicans. Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy" and Ronald Reagan's coalition solidified this shift, producing the regional patterns — Republican South, competitive North — that persist today.

What Causes Realignments?

  • Critical elections: High-turnout elections that mobilize new voters or produce dramatic policy changes (e.g., 1932, 1980)
  • Major social or economic crises: Depressions, wars, and social upheavals force parties to take defining stands
  • Party platform shifts: When parties change their position on major issues, existing voters may feel abandoned
  • Demographic change: Growing or shrinking demographic groups gradually shift party coalitions over time

Interest Groups and Realignment

Interest groups play an important role in realignment. When major organized groups — like labor unions in the 1930s or evangelical Christians in the 1970s–80s — shift their institutional support from one party to another, they bring money, volunteer networks, and mobilized voters with them. The alignment of interest groups with particular parties helps explain why realignments stick.

Are We in a Realignment Today?

Political scientists debate whether current trends represent a new realignment or continued dealignment. Key trends to watch include:

  • Shifts among college-educated voters and non-college voters across both parties
  • Growing partisan polarization without necessarily increasing party identification
  • The rise of independent voters who split tickets or abstain

For the AP exam, you don't need to predict the future — but you do need to understand the historical patterns and the mechanisms that drive party change. Realignment is one of the most powerful concepts for explaining why American politics looks the way it does today.