There was a time in living memory when individual voting patterns were distinct from the more important things in life. How you worshipped, where you lived, the industry in which you worked, and the cultural products you consumed said a lot more about you than the politicians for whom you voted. No longer. Social scientists long ago observed that individual political identities were merging with or even supplanting preexisting social identities. Politics and culture were converging upon each other.
Today, individual voting histories say as much or more about a person’s values as their associations and living arrangements. The cultures into which voters are sorting themselves are distinct in profound ways, but they are not evenly matched. The cultural affinities that are increasingly associated with the American Right may provide Republicans and their allies with more room for growth than those affiliated with the Left provide Democrats.
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