A community or a crowd? Regional and ethnic bloc voting in the Florida house of representatives, 1989–1996 Article

Hill, KA, Moreno, DV. (2002). A community or a crowd? Regional and ethnic bloc voting in the Florida house of representatives, 1989–1996 . POLITICS & POLICY, 30(1), 90-113. 10.1111/j.1747-1346.2002.tb00636.x

cited authors

  • Hill, KA; Moreno, DV

authors

abstract

  • The present study utilizes roll call analysis of voting in the Florida House of Representatives between 1989 and 1996 to answer the question of whether regional, partisan, or ethnic loyalties are more important in determining the behavior of political elites in the Sunshine State. In a large, populous state like Florida, is politics driven more by regional loyalties than by partisan loyalties? Further, given Florida's ethnic diversity, is ethnicity just as powerful a predictor of political behavior as is partisanship? Contrary to the predictions of some political observers in Florida, partisanship is found to be by far the most powerful predictor of behavior in the state legislature. However, both the Democratic and Republican parties during the time period under study were rife with two and sometimes three regional factions. The GOP also contained a significantly distinct and enduring Cuban-American sub-faction that often strained party loyalties during this period of Republican growth. The present paper concludes with observations about the effects of the latter finding on the GOP throughout the South, assuming it is successful in integrating more minorities into its fold. © 2002 Policy Studies Organization.

publication date

  • January 1, 2002

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 90

end page

  • 113

volume

  • 30

issue

  • 1