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This article proposes a theoretical framework for the study of local voting behavior The central argument is that salient group interests often act as political cues in local elections. The extent to which group interests influence electoral outcomes and overshadow other mom traditional political cues. such as partisanship is fundamentally related to the political context and the degree of group conflict. Analyzing public opinion surveys from three mayoral elections--New York (1989), New York (1993), and Los Angeles (1993)--this study finds that heightened levels of group conflict correspond with racially motivated voting in all three cases, From the standpoint of minority politics, cities represent the greatest promise for political empowerment and inclusion. By far the greatest degree of minority incorporation has been achieved in this domain, [...]

Petrocik's theory of issue ownership maintains that candidates use campaigns to strategically emphasize issues on which their parties are perceived as more competent; that, in essence, issue agendas have partisan effects on electoral outcomes. This research reexamines the theory of issue ownership using public opinion data from ten Senate races in 1998. While findings from this research largely support the issue ownership hypothesis, they also point to new insights. In particular, there is evidence that candidate records of innovation and issue attentiveness to opposing party issues can undermine the traditional party basis of the vote. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this paper finds that candidates are able to outflank their opponents on issues typically owned by the opposing party if their personal legislative records warrant it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the increase of Latin Americans and Blacks in Denver, Colorado. Emphasis on Black and Latino political relationship; Difference between shared interest hypothesis and empowerment hypothesis to study the relationship; Voting behavior for the minority candidate in the elections.

Changes in the U.S. partisan balance over the past decade are often attributed to the enhanced political salience of cultural issues. Yet as white men have continued to become more Republican in recent years, white women increasingly identify with the Democrats. To the extent that cultural issues are influencing this partisan change, men and women must be responding differently to this cultural agenda. Using a pooled ANES data set from 1988 through 2000, I explore the extent to which cultural values are responsible for this gender realignment. Findings suggest that salient cultural issues influence the partisan choices of both men and women, however in somewhat different ways. For women, the issues themselves—reproductive rights, female equality, and legal protection for homosexuals—have become increasingly important determinants of party identification. For men, the influence of cultural conflict on partisanship is argued to be equally pervasive, albeit less direct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]