Victim or Victor of the 'Culture War?' How Cultural Issues Affect Support for George W. Bush in Rural America
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2374-7781.2005-2006.26.0.349-367Abstract
Several studies have challenged the conclusions of Fiorina et al., that there is no ”culture war” that divides America. A recent book by Thomas Frank, however, argues that cultural divisions not only exist, but are critical to understanding Republican success. This study contributes to this literature by examining how individual positions on cultural issues affect support for George W. Bush in rural America. Using both county-level data and individual-level data, our results demonstrate that there are significant differences between rural and urban residents, and that George W. Bush’s success in rural communities during the 2004 election was at least partly a function of his socially conservative position on the issue of gay marriage.References
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