The Evolution of Women’s (and Men’s) Partisan Attachments

This chapter examines how women’s and men’s attachments with the two major political parties in the United States have evolved since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. The chapter contends that over time gender has become increasingly important in influencing both men’s and women’s partisan attachments. Along with identifying the similarities and differences between men and women in partisan attachments, this chapter examines the unity and disunity of women’s partisan attachments, drawing on historical analyses to understand men’s and women’s partisanship attachments immediately after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment when systematic quantitative data are unavailable. The text then explores the partisan attachments of men and women between 1950 and 2012 using an extensive collection of Gallup surveys from this time period. Differences based on generation, education, race, and region are also examined.