Contemporary political scientists largely reject the notion of political realignment. We are told the theory is outdated, too rigid, too deterministic (Mayhew 2008). Yet the discipline’s skepticism comes at the same time the United States has witnessed one of the most dramatic shifts in party politics since the New Deal. The parties have changed internally (their leaders and platforms) and they have changed externally (their coalitions). You can call it something else, for example, issue evolution or secular realignment, but the patterns are hard to miss. The 2016 election and everything that followed is not just “Trump being Trump.” There has been a fundamental reshaping of American politics.