John Clark is professor and chair of the Political Science Department at Western Michigan University. He received his PhD from Ohio State University in 1992. His research on political parties, elections, and southern politics has appeared in numerous scholarly journals, including the AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, and POLITICAL RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Dr. Clark co-edited SOUTHERN POLITICAL PARTY ACTIVISTS (2005) and PARTY ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVISM IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH (1998), which won the 1999 V.O. Key Award as the best book on southern politics.