Restructuring of the electoral competition in the Autonomous Community of Valencia (2011–2019)

Electoral competition in the Valencian Autonomous Community has long been articulated through the left–right and national identity divides. Although voter identities have generally remained stable over time, some shifts between 2011 and 2019 indeed seemed to be connected to the breakthrough of new political parties. The aim of this article was to show the electoral spaces occupied by new and mainstream political parties in the Valencian region through the last three regional electoral cycles. This, in turn, allowed us to trace the evolution of the main political areas dominated by each party, as well as to highlight spaces in which the electoral competition was more demanding. This Valencian case study shows the limitations of theories of party competition based on exclusive control of the electoral space by some political parties.