Seventh Party System

Seventh Party System

←  Sixth 2016–Present

The Seventh Party System is a proposed era of American politics that began with the 2016 United States presidential election. Its periodization, alongside the Sixth Party System, is heavily debated due to the lack of an overwhelming change of hands in Congress since the end of the New Deal Party System. It is the current party system.

Dating the Seventh Party System

Theories as to the beginning date of the Seventh Party system range from 2008 to 2020. Mark D. Brewer and L. Sandy Maisel speculate that it is 2016, since "in the wake of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential victory, there is now strengthening debate as to whether we are entering a new party system as Trump fundamentally reshapes the Republican party and the Democratic party responds and evolves as well." ^[1]

Alternatively, the argument for placing 2008 as the beginning of the Seventh Party System is that, like the previous Party Systems, the Seventh Party System also occurs concurrently with a realignment of an important base of third party voters, specifically the realignment of Anderson and Perot voters in the North and West in 1980, 1992 and 1996. After these Independents/Reform voters realigned into the Democratic Party, which started in the 1996 election and finished in 2008, the Democrats became the dominant party in the White House as a result of their new-found dominance in the North and West.

Characteristics of the proposed Seventh Party System

Proponents of the shift to the Seventh Party System note several recent shifts in demographics and voting patterns. Non-whites, who predominantly vote Democratic, have grown as a share of the population since the start of the Sixth Party System, and previously Republican-leaning secular college-educated whites have moved to the left. At the same time, Republicans have made significant inroads with white voters without a college degree, while holding steady with evangelical voters. ^{[2] [3]}

One of the biggest shifts is that of education, which is growing to become a bigger divide in politics than race. Since 2016, Democrats, while slightly losing support among black and Latino voters, gained support among college-educated voters. ^[4]

See also

• History of the Democratic Party (United States)
• History of the Republican Party (United States)
• Party systems in the United States
• Political party strength in U.S. states

References

1. Brewer and Maisel, Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process (9th ed. 2021) p 42 online
2. Vance, Chris (2021-01-12). "The Seventh Party System - Niskanen Center". Niskanen Center - Improving Policy, Advancing Moderation. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
3. Gerstle, Gary (2022). The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0197519646.
4. Wolf, Zachary B. (2024-10-14). "Analysis: Why education level has become the best predictor for how someone will vote". CNN. Retrieved 2024-11-06.