The South is a notoriously evangelical region, so it should have gone to Ted Cruz or another candidate who focused more on social/religious issues. Trump was mostly focused on economics in the Upper Midwest, though.
No, absolutely not. Trump's major selling point to GOP primary voters wasn't so much economics (although many liked his message there obviously) but that he was a fighter who would unashamedly and outrageously attack the liberal media and liberal cultural elites. Many, many evangelical voters in the South felt that the cultural progress under the Obama administration had put their very way of life at risk and they were excited by a candidate who was fighting dirty against it.
I agree with this, you cannot under estimate the siege mentality on the right and the feeling going back to Bush that Republicans lack a backbone to defend themselves from the left, much less go on the offensive.
As an additional point, this forum has historically failed to understand the importance of the immigration issue as it relates to the base and this is a factor across much of the South especially, particularly in the era of migrant labor being so widespread and the sense of jobs displacement and being blamed for declining wages in low skilled, non-college fields. Guess where Trump's strongest support came from? Those same people would express this concern openly.
