Southern partisan change included independent and third-party moves, not only Republican shifts.

Evidence

We use the term “dealignment” instead of “realignment” in this paper as we focus on Southerners leaving the Democratic party—whether to join the Republicans, adopt independent status, or support third-party candidates such as Strom Thurmond or George Wallace. — Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington, Why Did the Democrats Lose the South?…, 62

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes dealignment (exit from the party) from realignment, which matters for measuring whether threat converted into an organized countermobilization or mere withdrawal.
• XREF: connects to: Southern economic catch-up could independently explain realignment away from Democrats. — Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington, Why Did the Democrats Lose the South?…, 43; The racial-views mechanism nearly fully accounts for Southern whites’ partisan shift. — Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington, Why Did the Democrats Lose the South?…, 462

Broader Connections

• Southern economic catch-up could independently explain realignment away from Democrats. #qualifies (0.85) — Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington, Why Did the Democrats Lose the South?…, 43
• The racial-views mechanism nearly fully accounts for Southern whites’ partisan shift. #qualifies (0.85) — Ilyana Kuziemko and Ebonya Washington, Why Did the Democrats Lose the South?…, 462