Ronald Reagan's victory in 1980 marked the beginning of a second realignment of the political parties. With his defeat of Jimmy Carter in 1980 and landslide victory over Walter Mondale in 1984, Reagan forged the foundation for a new Republican coalition. His message of cutting taxes, defeating communism, and resurrecting moral values appealed to traditional Democratic constituencies including socially conservative immigrants, blue-collar workers, and small-business owners — crossover voters who were dubbed “Reagan Democrats” by the media. Reagan's coalition, however, did not translate to significant Congressional gains.

In 1994, Newt Gingrich broadened this coalition with the Republican takeover of Congress. Gingrich's “Contract with America” repeated many of the themes that Reagan had popularized a decade earlier — cutting taxes, modernizing the military, and reducing the size of government — and helped bring about one of the most dramatic swings in Congressional history. Not since the Eisenhower administration had the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress.

President George W. Bush seemed to have cemented this realignment of the parties after leading the Republicans to an unprecedented victory during the 2002 midterm elections. For the first time in half a century, the Republicans took control of both branches of government, as well as a majority of the governorships and state legislatures.