Polarization within the American government has reached near historic levels in recent decades. One of the most readily apparent results of this partisan atmosphere is the increase in the number of American states that are almost totally controlled by one of the two major political parties. This study seeks to examine the effect this single-party domination has on the policy positions of Senate candidates of the minority parties in these states. It is hypothesized that minority party candidates seeking election in these states will be more likely to adopt policy positions more commonly associated with the platforms of the majority party in an effort to remain viable, leading to increased levels of political homogeneity.
In an effort to measure these policy deviations, the campaign websites of Senate candidates for each state over three elections will be examined, and positions regarding five typically polarized issues will be recorded. These positions will then be compared to the official platforms of the two parties’ national organizations. Candidates will be scored on a party loyalty scale according to their adherence to or deviation from their party’s official position. Using these scores, candidates from single-party dominated states will be compared to their counterparts from more competitive states to gain a clearer picture of the true nature of political competition.
","abstract_html":"<p>Polarization within the American government has reached near historic levels in recent decades. One of the most readily apparent results of this partisan atmosphere is the increase in the number of American states that are almost totally controlled by one of the two major political parties. This study seeks to examine the effect this single-party domination has on the policy positions of Senate candidates of the minority parties in these states. It is hypothesized that minority party candidates seeking election in these states will be more likely to adopt policy positions more commonly associated with the platforms of the majority party in an effort to remain viable, leading to increased levels of political homogeneity.</p> <p>In an effort to measure these policy deviations, the campaign websites of Senate candidates for each state over three elections will be examined, and positions regarding five typically polarized issues will be recorded. These positions will then be compared to the official platforms of the two parties’ national organizations. Candidates will be scored on a party loyalty scale according to their adherence to or deviation from their party’s official position. Using these scores, candidates from single-party dominated states will be compared to their counterparts from more competitive states to gain a clearer picture of the true nature of political competition.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Adcock, William Samuel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Marija Bekafigo","Kate Greene","Troy Gibson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:27Z","subjects":["elections","party","competition","campaigns","polarization","congress","American Politics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/94","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Marija Bekafigo","Kate Greene","Troy Gibson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Adcock, William Samuel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-23T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["elections","party","competition","campaigns","polarization","congress","American Politics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/94"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Polarization within the American government has reached near historic levels in recent decades. One of the most readily apparent results of this partisan atmosphere is the increase in the number of American states that are almost totally controlled by one of the two major political parties. This study seeks to examine the effect this single-party domination has on the policy positions of Senate candidates of the minority parties in these states. It is hypothesized that minority party candidates seeking election in these states will be more likely to adopt policy positions more commonly associated with the platforms of the majority party in an effort to remain viable, leading to increased levels of political homogeneity.
In an effort to measure these policy deviations, the campaign websites of Senate candidates for each state over three elections will be examined, and positions regarding five typically polarized issues will be recorded. These positions will then be compared to the official platforms of the two parties’ national organizations. Candidates will be scored on a party loyalty scale according to their adherence to or deviation from their party’s official position. Using these scores, candidates from single-party dominated states will be compared to their counterparts from more competitive states to gain a clearer picture of the true nature of political competition.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Meeting in the Middle: The Impact of Single-Party Dominance on Partisan Politics"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Marija Bekafigo","Kate Greene","Troy Gibson"],"dc:creator":["Adcock, William Samuel"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-23T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Polarization within the American government has reached near historic levels in recent decades. One of the most readily apparent results of this partisan atmosphere is the increase in the number of American states that are almost totally controlled by one of the two major political parties. This study seeks to examine the effect this single-party domination has on the policy positions of Senate candidates of the minority parties in these states. It is hypothesized that minority party candidates seeking election in these states will be more likely to adopt policy positions more commonly associated with the platforms of the majority party in an effort to remain viable, leading to increased levels of political homogeneity.
In an effort to measure these policy deviations, the campaign websites of Senate candidates for each state over three elections will be examined, and positions regarding five typically polarized issues will be recorded. These positions will then be compared to the official platforms of the two parties’ national organizations. Candidates will be scored on a party loyalty scale according to their adherence to or deviation from their party’s official position. Using these scores, candidates from single-party dominated states will be compared to their counterparts from more competitive states to gain a clearer picture of the true nature of political competition.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/94"],"dc:subject":["elections","party","competition","campaigns","polarization","congress","American Politics"],"dc:title":["Meeting in the Middle: The Impact of Single-Party Dominance on Partisan Politics"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:27Z"}