A portrait of how the 1990s round of redistricting treated the racial and linguistic minorities that had been given special protections by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, primarily African-Americans, but also Native Americans, Asian-Americans, and those of Spanish heritage. Throughout the volume, the primary focus is on the practical politics of redistricting and its consequences for racial representation. Almost all the authors have been directly involved in the 1990s redistricting process either as a legislator, a member of the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department, a member of a districting commission, or, most commonly, as an expert witness or lawyer in voting rights cases. All bring to bear special insights as well as insider knowledge of Congressional and state redistricting.

An incisive study that shows how Republicans transformed the US House of Representatives into a consistent GOP stronghold—with or without a majority. Long-term Democratic dominance in the US House of Representatives gave way to a Republican electoral advantage and frequently held majority following the GOP takeover in 1994. Republicans haven’t always held the majority in recent decades, but nationalization, partisan realignment, and the gerrymandering of House seats have contributed to a political climate in which they've had an edge more often than not for nearly thirty years. The Long Red Thread examines each House election cycle from 1964 to 2020, surveying academic and journalistic literature to identify key trends and takeaways from more than a half-century of US House election results in order to predict what Americans can expect to see in the future.

Sam Brownback was the first modern-day conservative to be elected governor of Kansas, the culmination of a rightward shift in the state's often-dominant Republican Party. This book is a detailed case study of the policies implemented over his two terms as governor, paying particular attention to the impact on state government and services, the economy, public education, and the business environment. The authors provide extensive background, historical evidence, and detailed references. The book's real-world relevance is grounded in a discussion of similar policies in other states as well as the US federal government.

A prizewinning political scientist traces the origins of urban-rural political conflict and shows how geography shapes elections in America and beyond Why is it so much easier for the Democratic Party to win the national popular vote than to build and maintain a majority in Congress? Why can Democrats sweep statewide offices in places like Pennsylvania and Michigan yet fail to take control of the same states' legislatures? Many place exclusive blame on partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression. But as political scientist Jonathan A. Rodden demonstrates in Why Cities Lose, the left's electoral challenges have deeper roots in economic and political geography. In the late nineteenth century, support for the left began to cluster in cities among the industrial working class. Today, left-wing parties have become coalitions of diverse urban interest groups, from racial minorities to the creative class. These parties win big in urban districts but struggle to capture the suburban and rural seats necessary for legislative majorities. A bold new interpretation of today's urban-rural political conflict, Why Cities Lose also points to electoral reforms that could address the left's under-representation while reducing urban-rural polarization.

Through an ethnographic case study of Chicago's Little Village, Wounded City demonstrates how competition for political power and state resources undermined efforts to reduce gang violence. Robert Vargas argues that the state, through different patterns of governance, can contribute to distrust and division among community members.