MS will never vote Democrat because despite the delusions of some here it is very, very INELASTIC. The idea of a Democrat clearing 50%, which they haven't done in a major statewide race (gubernatorial/senatorial) since 1987 is comical.
What's your hot take on the Realignment of 1987?
Fordice ousted Mabus in 1991 by focusing on affirmative action, it's clear that Republicans have exploited the racial tension in the state and made it virtually impossible for Dems to get the 30% of whites they would need to win statewide.
And Republicans just started exploiting racial tension in 1987? Local Democrats just stopped around then?
When I said "since 1987", I meant that was the last time a Democrat won over 50% statewide. I realize other people use "since [insert year]" differently, and that statement would imply that 1983 was the last time the aforementioned happened, but that's not how I use it.
The Republican party wasn't that well established locally in MS until the 1980s, but they certainly did begin exploiting it almost immediately. "Local Democrats" are irrelevant to this question. The black vote was dominating Democratic primaries by the 1980s, no Democrat who was anti-black was ever going to win the nomination to statewide office, which is what we're talking about.
