The term Reagan Democrat is used by political commentators to denote traditionally Democratic voters, especially white working-class Northerners, who defected from their party to support President Ronald Reagan, in both the 1980 and 1984 elections. It is also used to refer to the smaller but still substantial number of Democrats who voted for George H. W. Bush in the 1988 election. A political commentator is a figure in the news media who publically airs their interpretation of events in the politics of a state or institution. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... George Herbert Walker Bush GCB (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States of America serving from 1989 to 1993. ... The election was held on November 8, 1988. ...

The classic study of Reagan Democrats is probably the work of the Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. Greenberg analyzed white ethnic voters (largely unionized auto workers) in Macomb County, Michigan, just north of Detroit. The county voted 63% for Kennedy in 1960 and 66% for Reagan in 1984. He concluded that "Reagan Democrats" no longer saw Democrats as champions of their middle-class aspirations, but instead saw them as working primarily for the benefit of others: the very poor, the unemployed, African Americans, and other political pressure-groups. In addition, Reagan Democrats enjoyed gains during the Reagan economic boom following the "malaise" of the Carter Administration. They also supported Reagan's strong stance on national security and opposed the 1980s Democratic Party on such issues as pornography, crime, and taxes.^[1] Stanley Bernard Greenberg (born May 10, 1945) is a leading Democratic pollster and political strategist who has advised the campaigns of the Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry, as well as hundreds of other candidates and organizations in the United States and around the world. ... Macomb County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Order: 39th President Term of Office: January 20, 1977–January 20, 1981 Preceded by: Gerald Ford Succeeded by: Ronald Reagan Date of birth: October 1, 1924 Place of birth: Plains, Georgia Date of death: Place of death: First Lady: Rosalynn Carter Political party: Democratic Vice President: Walter Mondale James... Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ... For other uses, see Pornography (disambiguation) Pornography (from Greek πόρνη (porne) prostitute and γραφή (grafe) writing), more informally referred to as porn or porno, is the representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. ... -1...

It is not clear what political path these voters (and their offspring) took after the end of the Reagan/Bush administrations. President Reagan, with his Cabinet and staff, in the Oval Office (February 4, 1981) Headed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, the Reagan Administration was conservative, steadfastly anti-Communist and in favor of tax cuts and smaller government. ...

Reagan Democrat also refers the the vast sway that Reagan held in over over the House of Representatitives during his presidency, even though the house was a Democratic majority during both of his terms. ^[2]

Recent Developments

After the 2006 mid-term elections, political commentators widely noted that Reagan Democrats had "returned to the fold." That is, after becoming disenchanted with President Bush's prosecution of the war in Iraq, the pivotal middle-of-the-road voters that are traditionally labeled as Reagan Democrats returned back to the Democratic Party this election cycle. Many commentators, however, are also unsure if this return to the Democratic ticket will be a permanent change for this important group of voters.

References

• Anthony Edward Fairfax. The Democratic Trend Phenomena (2005) ch 4
• Juliet F. Gainsborough. Fenced Off: The Suburbanization of American Politics (2001)
• Stanley B. Greenberg. Middle Class Dreams: Politics and Power of the New American Majority (1996)
• Stanley B. Greenberg. The Two Americas: Our Current Political Deadlock and how to Break it (2004)
• John B. Judis. The Emerging Democratic Majority (2004)
• Ruy A. Teixeira and Joel Rogers.America's Forgotten Majority: Why the White Working Class Still Matters (2001)

1. ^ Greenberg (1996)
2. ^ Greenberg (1996)