Effects of the Interaction between Race and Urbanization on Votes of Southern Congressmen

The urbanization and racial composition of congressional districts have often been used separately to explain southern members' voting behavior. This study, however, examines the possibility that these sociodemographic forces may interact to induce southern legislators to cast their roll-call votes in a more liberal direction. Using ordinary least squares regression, the author finds that this joint effect is a powerful predictor of liberal voting. Further analysis of districts in the deep South alone also supports the hypothesis of interaction. The findings suggest that southern Democrats representing urban districts with a sizable or diversified minority population tend to be the most liberal of the southern congressional delegation.