1968
1991
Era
Cold War Realignment
Nixon, Reagan, and the Republican South.
6 cycles in this era
Cold War Realignment
1968
Richard Nixon
Wallace won 46 EC votes; year of assassinations and riots; Nixon won with 43.4% popular vote
Cold War Realignment1972
Richard Nixon
Nixon won 49 states but resigned 2 years later due to Watergate; McGovern carried only Massachusetts and DC
Cold War Realignment1976
Jimmy Carter
Ford's Nixon pardon cost him heavily; Carter was the first Deep South president since before the Civil War
Cold War Realignment1980
Ronald Reagan
Reagan Revolution began; 'Reagan Democrats' realigned; hostages released 20 minutes after his inauguration
Cold War Realignment1984
Ronald Reagan
Most electoral votes ever against a major-party opponent (525); first female VP nominee (Ferraro)
Cold War Realignment1988
George H. W. Bush
Willie Horton ad pioneered modern negative campaigning; Dukakis tank photo was mocked nationally
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Curated picksNixonland
Rick Perlstein
How politics polarized 1965–1972.
Buy on Amazon →Reagan
H. W. Brands
Single-volume Reagan biography.
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