The 2016 elections took place under intense political polarization and uncertain economic conditions, to widely unexpected results. How did Trump pull off his victory? Political Behavior of the American Electorate, Fourteenth Edition, attempts to answer this question by interpreting data from the most recent American National Election Study to provide a thorough analysis of the 2016 elections and the current American political behavior. Authors Elizabeth Theiss-Morse and Michael Wagner continue the tradition of Flanigan and Zingale to illustrate and document trends in American political behavior with the best longitudinal data available. The authors also put these trends in context by focusing on the major concepts and characteristics that shape Americans’ responses to politics. In the completely revised Fourteenth Edition, you will explore get-out-the-vote efforts and the reasons people voted the way they did, as well as the nature and impact of partisanship, news media coverage, and other issues in 2016–all with an eye toward understanding the trends that led up to the historic decision.

The 2020 elections took place under intense political polarization, uncertain economic conditions, a global pandemic, and social unrest. Political Behavior of the American Electorate, Fifteenth Edition, attempts to answer your questions around the above topics by interpreting data from the most recent American National Election Study to provide a thorough analysis of the 2020 elections and the current American political behavior. Authors Elizabeth Theiss-Morse and Michael Wagner continue the tradition of Flanigan and Zingale to illustrate and document trends in American political behavior with the best longitudinal data available. The authors also put these trends in context by focusing on the major concepts and characteristics that shape Americans’ responses to politics. In the completely revised Fifteenth Edition, readers will explore support and opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, discuss post-election attitudes about the January 6th attempted coup, examine misinformation and the beliefs in QAnon, and dissect reports on public assessments of President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.