State Legislative Party Competition: A County-Level Measure

Abstract

This note develops a county-level measure of state legislative party competition for the periods between 1968-73, 1974-79, and 1980-85. The validity of the measure is evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis, a comparison to Ranney's state-level measure, and through an examination of the county-level data. In all cases, the county-level measure shows it is a valid indicator of party competition at the state legislative level.