Voting behavior in the 2012 elections: Top-down realignment in eastern Oklahoma

Abstract

We examine the voting behavior of voters in eastern Oklahoma in the 2012 elections. We focus on explaining why the top-down secular realignment in eastern Oklahoma is proceeding so much slower than in the rest of the state. With our exit polls of the elections of 2012, we examine which arguments on the causes and nature of top-down secular realignments have explanatory power in eastern Oklahoma. The results of the analysis suggest that several factors, including but not limited to the large percentage of American Indians and a populist disposition among the electorate, affect the slow pace of the realignment in eastern Oklahoma.