Party Organizational Response to Electoral Change: Texas and Arkansas

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which state parties have responded to changes in patterns of electoral competition. We contend that parties have tended to alter their organizational practices not only in anticipation of future elections, but also as a function of previous ones. The data are formed by case studies of the Republican parties in Texas and Arkansas in the 1960s and 1970s. The sources of much of these data were the records of the parties themselves. This time period was chosen as it represents a dynamic period for Southern parties when the electoral landscape of the region was transformed. Both Republican party organizations were faced with opportunities that resulted from unanticipated election victories; however, the Texas party was more successful in capitalizing on this opportunity. We explain this by a number of organizational attributes.