A new front in the culture war? Moral traditionalism and voting behavior in US House elections

    Authors

    J. Knuckey

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Am. Polit. Res.

    Keywords

    political ideology; US. House of Representatives; elections; voting; culture war; UNITED-STATES; POLITICAL CONTRIBUTORS; PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTION; SECULAR; REALIGNMENT; PARTY SYSTEM; IDEOLOGY; PARTISANSHIP; PERSPECTIVE; RELIGION; AMERICA; Political Science

    Abstract

    This article examines the effect of cultural values on voting behavior in elections below the presidential level. Using data from the American National Election Studies, the article examines the effect of moral traditionalism on individual-level vote choice in U.S. House elections. Findings indicate that a new front has been opened in the culture war, with moral traditionalism exerting an indirect effect on vote choice through party identification and, most importantly, a direct effect since the mid- to late 1990s, one that was hitherto not evident. This suggests that a greater emphasis placed on cultural issues by candidates and other political elites, or possibly changes in the images held by the electorate of both parties, has resulted in a moral traditionalism cleavage being driven down to voting behavior at the congressional level. Overall, these findings suggest a widening and deepening of a cultural values-based realignment of the American electorate.

    Journal Title

    American Politics Research

    Volume

    33

    Issue/Number

    5

    Publication Date

    1-1-2005

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    645

    Last Page

    671

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000231092400002

    ISSN

    1532-673X

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