Party Blight in Rural Missouri: Causes and Consequences of Local Organizational Decline

University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 6-24-2019 Party Blight in Rural Missouri: Causes and Consequences of Local Organizational Decline Joseph Anthony University of Missouri-St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the American Politics Commons Recommended Citation Anthony, Joseph, "Party Blight in Rural Missouri: Causes and Consequences of Local Organizational Decline" (2019). Dissertations. 840. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/840 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Party Blight in Rural Missouri: Causes and Consequences of Local Organizational Decline Joseph Anthony M.A. Political Science, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2017 B.A. English, Truman State University 2000 A Dissertation Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science August 2019 Advisory Committee Todd Swanstrom, Ph.D. Chairperson David Cunningham, Ph.D. David Kimball, Ph.D. David B. Robertson, Ph.D. Adriano Udani, Ph.D. Copyright, Joseph Anthony 2019 i Abstract Abstract Political parties are fundamental institutions to representative democracies, and they have been an integral part of the American political fabric since the early 1800s. Changes in the political landscape have pressed social scientists to engage in a now long-running academic debate as to whether political parties are in a state of reform and adaptation in the modern campaign environment, or if they are in an overall state of decline. While there has been considerable attention given to national and state party organizations, very little is known about how local party organizations are faring in the modern campaign environment. This dissertation examines the state of local political parties in rural communities in Missouri, areas that have become more ideologically polarized in recent election cycles. This study uses a mixed-methods research design; multiple forms of data have been collected from surveys, public documents and archives, personal interviews, and participant-observation. This study seeks to address the questions, are local political parties in rural Missouri in a state of decline? What are the causes of local party decline in rural communities? Is there a relationship between local party strength and electoral outcomes in rural communities? Finally, what are the implications and consequences of local party decline in rural communities? This study finds that in some rural communities, local party organizations have become so inactive as to be functionally non-existent. This dissertation introduces the idea of “party blight” to describe a process of organizational decay in rural communities, and it further details the emergence of “filler organizations” in rural counties where local parties have become latent. Joseph Anthony, PhD Candidate University of Missouri in St. Louis ii Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This dissertation represents five years of research, field work, and writing, and it is largely motivated by my 15 years of previous professional experience working in political arenas via advocacy organizations and interest groups. The leaders, volunteers, and ordinary people I encountered throughout my career in politics have cumulatively impacted me as a person, and they have further informed my belief that organizations matter. People rely upon organizations to structure the opportunities that allow them to act publicly on their personal and political values. Further, organizations should do more in society than just provide the public with messaging cues or media-driven persuasion campaigns. Organizations, at their best, can bring people and communities together in ways that forge lasting relationships, develop collective identities, and mobilize people in ways that forever impact policy outcomes. Without organizations, people are not likely to come together on their own accord to discuss difficult social or political issues, and they are even less likely to have the ability to channel their beliefs into action in any sort of a meaningful way. Therefore, organizations have a responsibility to prioritize work that builds local relationships, local skillsets, and builds local structures over time. In the modern campaign era, political parties and candidates have become as enamored by technological advances and efficiencies as the rest of us; these new technological strategies, however, have largely replaced strategies that develop local and interpersonal relationships. This dissertation provides some insights into how these shifts in party organizations have impacted rural communities in my home state of Missouri. There were many people who contributed their time, knowledge, and expertise to the substance of this dissertation. For the purposes of anonymity, individuals will not be named here, though each one deserves my deepest gratitude. Leaders from both the Missouri Democratic Party and the Missouri GOP shared their time with me, and they also helped me to identify other key and local leaders across the state within their networks. Additionally, the staff at the Missouri Rural Crisis Center helped connect me to local leaders in rural counties, and they were absolutely critical to much of the research and findings presented here. Finally, an enormous amount of gratitude is reserved for my dissertation committee, led by Todd Swanstrom. Professor Swanstrom was always available to answer questions, puzzle through ideas and chapters, and to challenge my thinking in ways that helped develop the findings and theoretical implications of the final dissertation. In addition, Professors David Kimball, Dave Robertson, David Cunningham and Adriano Udani all contributed their time, energy, and substantial knowledge to the development of this dissertation, as well as to my development as an emerging scholar. The level of engagement, guidance, support, and feedback I received from my committee cannot be understated. I can only hope to pay their service forward in future years, and I aspire to be the kind of scholar who also supports his students in the ways that I have been supported in my time at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. To all of you who have contributed to this dissertation, I thank you. Joseph Anthony, PhD Candidate University of Missouri in St. Louis iii Table of Contents Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview……………………………………….……1 Chapter 2: The Changing Functions of Political Parties……………………15 Chapter 3: Local Parties Matter………………………………………………….….46 Chapter 4: The Missouri Political Puzzle………………………………………...73 Chapter 5: Causes and Consequences of Local Party Decline………..108 Chapter 6: Party Blight and Filler Organizations……………….…………..137 Chapter 7: Conclusion and Recommendations…………….……………….175 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………..195 References.………………………………………………………………………..…………207 Joseph Anthony, PhD Candidate University of Missouri in St. Louis 1 Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview Joseph Anthony, PhD Candidate University of Missouri in St. Louis 2 Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview Introduction Political parties are fundamental to the success of representative democracies, and it is difficult to examine any part of American politics and not also touch upon the roles of these organizations. Parties are a uniquely powerful form of organization in U.S. politics because, as political sociologist Cedric de Leon notes, “…of their control of the system of nominations, elections, and appointments to political office” (2014: 1). In other words, political parties are the only formalized membership organization that can also control state power. Therefore, understanding the changing nature of political parties is important to understanding the changing nature of American society more broadly. Political parties have changed substantially throughout America history, as Chapter 2 will explain further. Due to legislation that has mitigated the influence of parties, as well as major advances in technology, both the organizational forms and functions of political parties have shifted in some substantial ways over a relatively short period of time. While much scholarly attention has been given to how these changes have affected state and national party structures, less is known about how changes in the political landscape have impacted local party organizations over time. In addition, almost nothing is known about how these changes in party forms and functions have specifically impacted rural communities. This dissertation addresses some of the questions about local party organizations that are unanswered in party scholarship. Specifically, what is the state of rural local party organizations in the modern campaign era? Compared with earlier decades, are Joseph Anthony, PhD Candidate University of Missouri in St. Louis 3 Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview rural local party organizations in a state of adaptation or decline? If local parties are in a state of decline in rural areas, does this matter? What are some of the electoral and participatory implications of diminished local organizational strength in rural areas? How are local activists and partisans engaging

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