The Mountain West -Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah -has become the new swing region in American politics. All signs point to these states, especially Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, being crucial in the 2012 election. Unfortunately, the rise of this region has been underreported in the media, and many political observers have only the most superficial understanding of the profound economic, political, and social changes that continue to reshape the Mountain West.

America's New Swing Region is the remedy. Led by bestselling author and political analyst Ruy Teixeira, a talented group of scholars assembled by the Brookings Mountain West program (housed at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas) presents the facts and the narrative necessary for understanding what is happening in this region and why it is so important.