In recent years, American political discourse has placed a great emphasis on suburban voters. These highly educated, affluent voters were seen as critical to Democrats' success in the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election. But why? This project largely seeks to understand why suburban voters have shifted towards the Democratic Party in the way that they have. I explore the historical underpinnings of suburbia and describe why it is such a surprising feature of American politics to see suburban voters aligning themselves closely with the Democratic Party. Second, I leverage a nuanced way of typologizing 'suburb' to demonstrate the magnitude of this leftward shift. Further, I seek to understand the role that demographics have in changing aggregate suburban voting behavior. I find that voters of color support the Democratic presidential candidate at equal rates regardless of location. Then, I demonstrate how suburban voters are becoming more liberal in their policy preferences but weigh issues similarly to urban voters. Lastly, I conclude with remarks on future work on suburban politics.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Suburban politics","Political realignment"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 24001