"The essays in Southern Political Party Activists, compiled and edited by John A. Clark and Charles L. Prysby, present the findings of a large-scale survey research project tracing the ways in which county-level political party organizations have adapted in response to the challenges of their new electoral environments." "The findings in Southern Political Party Activists lead to broad and telling conclusions about the nature of the southern political party system at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Also, because researchers have compiled little systematic data on local party organizations in any region of the country, these essays contribute significantly to understanding recent national political developments. By detailing the changes that southern Democrats and Republicans have made in response to the region's shifting political tides and placing those changes within the context of recent scholarship in the field, the authors provide a baseline from which future changes may be measured."--BOOK JACKET.