Investigation of the political attitudes of Democratic voters in eastern Oklahoma

Abstract

The realignment of southern voters from the Democratic to the Republican Party has sparked considerable scholarly interest. Although Oklahoma is not one of the former Confederate states, it has experienced the same partisan realignment from the Democratic to the Republican Party. The exception is the far eastern section of the state where the 2nd Congressional District is located. This research focuses on that predominantly white region and its resistance to the partisan realignment. We argue that the reason eastern Oklahoma has not realigned with the Republican Party is because of a strain of populism among the population there.