Interpreting extensive data gathered in eleven southern states during the 1992 presidential election, this book addresses a critical question about the democratic process: Do political parties still have a meaningful role to play in linking government and the governed?

While some observers have written off modern parties -- arguing that they have been supplanted by political action committees, social movements, candidate organizations, and the like -- Michael Maggiotto and Gary Wekkin find that parties remain viable mediators between the wishes and values of voters and the policy espousals...