The Seventh Party System is a proposed era of American politics that began sometime around the 2010s or 2020s. Its periodization, alongside the Sixth Party System, is heavily debated due to the lack of an overwhelming change of hands in Congress since the end of the New Deal Party System.
Dating the Seventh Party System
Theories as to the beginning date of the Seventh Party system range from 2008 to 2020. Mark D. Brewer and L. Sandy Maisel speculate that it is 2016, since "in the wake of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential victory, there is now strengthening debate as to whether [the United States is] entering a new party system as Trump fundamentally reshapes the Republican party and the Democratic party responds and evolves as well."[1]
The re-election of Donald J. Trump to the Presidency in the 2024 election has led to major speculation and discussions on a potential political realignment. This is due to the voter demographic shifts towards his favor, along with a popular vote victory, the first for a Republican in 20 years since George W. Bush in 2004. Trump's victories in all swing states, dominance with white working-class voters, historic Republican gains with Hispanics and Black men have produced conversations on the emergence of the 7th Party system in the American landscape.
Characteristics of the proposed Seventh Party System
Proponents of the shift to the Seventh Party System note several recent shifts in demographics and voting patterns. Non-white voters, who predominantly vote Democratic, have grown as a share of the population since the start of the Sixth Party System, and previously Republican-leaning secular college-educated white voters have moved to the left. At the same time, Republicans have made significant inroads with white voters without a college degree, while maintaining their favor with evangelical Christian voters.[2][3]
One of the biggest shifts is that of education, which is growing to become a bigger divide in politics than race. Since 2016, Democrats, while slightly losing support among Black and Latino voters, gained support among college-educated voters. Republicans have in turn gained support among the non-college educated.[4]
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