UW Professor Contributes to Book on 2012 Elections

Gerald Webster, professor and head of the University of Wyoming Department of Geography, was among the contributors to "Atlas of the 2012 Elections,” a  206-page book that analyzes and maps the campaigns, primaries, general election and key state referenda from the 2012 elections.

Webster was among eight editors of the book that documents the hotly contested presidential election in which President Barack Obama was re-elected by nearly four percentage points. The book's 40 contributors provide detailed assessments of presidential results at the national, regional and statewide levels, plus trace voting patterns for key racial, ethnic, religious and occupational groups.

Moving beyond the national race, the atlas examines important senatorial and gubernatorial races and considers selected state referenda including the marijuana votes in Colorado and Washington and same-sex marriage referenda in Maryland, Washington, Colorado and Minnesota. The voting patterns identified in 2012 elections also are compared to earlier contests to provide political and geographic context over time.

"The atlas should be of value to anyone with interests in politics and elections, most particularly as we get closer to the 2016 election," Webster says.

"Atlas of the 2012 Elections," with nearly 200 full-color maps, was published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.

Webster’s research focuses on political geography, electoral geography, secessionist groups and voting rights. He serves on the editorial boards of a number of professional publications, including Political Geography and the Journal of Geography.