As late as 1960， political life in the Southern states was dominated by a Democratic party seeking to preserve white supremacy. When national Democrats abandoned the Southern cause and vigorously advocated equal rights for blacks， the solidly Democratic South crumbled and gave way to the two-party system that remains in place today. In this expanded edition， Lamis explains how this transformation occurred， offering a state-by-state analysis as well as overview chapters that chart regional and national trends from the 1960s through the 1980s， and assess the prospects for the 1990s and beyond. new chapters discuss the 1984 and 1986 elections， and the prospects for the future.