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The current two-party system in the United States, dominated by the Democratic and Republican parties, has been in place since the 1860 election. Long term trends show that results tend to be cyclical, with both parties having winning streaks of the nationwide popular vote in four (or more) elections in a row. For the Republican Party, these extended streaks came around the Civil War and at the turn of the 20th century. For the Democrats, these streaks came around the late-1800s, the Depression and WWII era, and in the early 2000s. However, it should be noted that there was a major political realignment between the parties during the 20th century, with the Democrats eventually becoming the more fiscally and socially progressive party, while the Republicans became more fiscally liberal and socially conservative, particularly after the Second World War. In recent decades, the Democratic Party has won the popular vote in seven of the nine presidential elections since 1992, although the U.S. electoral college system means that Republicans still won the presidency in four of these nine elections, despite receiving fewer votes in both 2000 and 2016.