Interparty Competition in the American States: an Examination of Index Components

Abstract

EW aspects of political activities in the American states have attracted the attention as has the level of competition between the Democratic and Republican parties. In the wake of V. O. Key's (1949 and 1956) classic works in the field of state party systems and elections, numerous scholars have proposed measures of interparty competition (e.g., Ranney and Kendall 1954; Schlesinger 1955, 1960; Golembiewski 1958; Hofferbert 1964; Ranney 1965; Pfeiffer 1967; David 1972; Loevy 1984) while others have sought to determine the policy consequences of such competition (e.g., Dawson and Robinson 1963; Dye 1966, 1984; Sharkansky 1968; Cnudde and McCrone 1969; Lewis-Beck 1977; Jennings 1979). In comparison, much less effort has been devoted to the question of why the party systems in some states are more competitive than those in others; studies investigating the determinants of party systems generally point to the link between interparty competition and socioeconomic factors. Several recent studies have focused on changes in the nature and effects of interparty competition over time (Tucker 1982; Feigert 1985; Kenney and Rice 1985; Tucker and Herzik 1986). Absent from these studies, however, is a separate consideration of the various dimensions of an index of interparty competition. This paper explores this aspect of interparty competition by examining relationships among the components of the commonly used Ranney index. Interparty competition in the chambers of state legislatures and for the governorship are analyzed in an effort to enhance our understanding of state party systems.