Reagan Democrat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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.
It is not clear what political path these voters (and their offspring) took after the end of the Reagan/Bush administrations.
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.
