after the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965, the party's core base shifted, with the southern states becoming more reliably republican in presidential politics and the northeastern states becoming more reliably democratic. white voters increasingly identified with the republican party after the 1960s. following the supreme court's 1973 decision in "roe v. wade", the republican party opposed abortion in its party platform and grew its support among evangelicals. the republican party won five of the six presidential elections from 1968 to 1988. two-term president ronald reagan, who held office from 1981 to 1989, was a transformative party leader whose conservative policies called for reduced government spending and regulation, lower taxes and a strong anti-soviet union foreign policy. reagan's influence upon the party persisted into the next century.