So what’s really happening?
The University of Arkansas is pleased to announce a special visit from historian and political science professor John C. Davis on May 15. Davis will discuss why Arkansas has swung from a Democrat state to a Republican state so quickly. He just wrote a new book called From Blue To Red.
What’s Behind Arkansas’ Political Change?
The transformation of Arkansas from a Democrat state to Republican has been swift and surprising.
On Election Day in 2010, Democrat occupied three of the four Arkansas seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, both U.S. House Seats, and all constitutional offices. They even held a majority in both chambers of the Arkansas General Assembly.
Fast forward to now, Republicans hold all six U.S. congressional positions and every state constitutional seat. Republicans even have supermajorities in both state chambers.
In his investigative research into the issue for From Blue To Red, John C. Davis uses interviews and voting data to explore trends that emerged as early as 1970 to figure out what happened.
According to Davis: “This is a story worth exploring.”
Davis started the project after 2020. There are a few reasons he gives for the transformation of the state:
- Voting trends at the forefront of the ballot during the 1960s.
- A shift in Arkansas’ political leadership during the 1990s due to generational changes.
- During the 2000s, we saw more people across the country getting involved in national politics, and they were often divided strongly into different groups.
Do YOU think Arkansas has changed? Comment below!
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