Southern Nixon vs. Wallace voters

[Tekken_Guy]

What was the difference between Nixon’s southern voters and Wallace’s?

[Podgy the Bear]

What was the difference between Nixon’s southern voters and Wallace’s?

Having grown up in Nashville and living in Atlanta for over 25 years, here is how I would cast them (and this could be extended to much of the South):

Nixon voters--Belle Meade CC (Nashville) and Cherokee Town Club (Atlanta) members, affluent, generally subtle but not necessarily different about racial issues and civil rights from Wallace voters. 

And for Tennessee in 1968, you would add East Tennessee and its historically Republican heritage to the mix.  Which is why Nixon won TN by a significant margin that year.

Wallace voters--Everyone else in the state that was not black.  For Atlanta, that would have included DeKalb and Clayton counties--completely unrecognizable today.  For Nashville, it would included a sizable part of Davidson County (which Wallace won in 1968).

And of course, by 1972, the Nixon and Wallace vote in the South coalesced almost perfectly to deliver enormous margins for Nixon.

[darklordoftech]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

[Intell]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

[MATTROSE94]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

[Del Tachi]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

I seriously doubt this.  C'mon, you're talking about Southern, (mostly retired) college-educated White suburbanites in their 70s and 80s?  I think they'd be Trump voters.

[RINO Tom]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

I seriously doubt this.  C'mon, you're talking about Southern, (mostly retired) college-educated White suburbanites in their 70s and 80s?  I think they'd be Trump voters.

Yeah ... wut?  How is this even a question?!

I also think people slightly underestimate the number of White voters Humphrey got throughout the South.  I mean, it wasn't high, as Wallace scooped up most of the "working class" and rural White vote, with Nixon cleaning up in the suburbs and more traditionally conservative areas, but I don't think Humphrey got zero, either.

[Del Tachi]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

I seriously doubt this.  C'mon, you're talking about Southern, (mostly retired) college-educated White suburbanites in their 70s and 80s?  I think they'd be Trump voters.

Yeah ... wut?  How is this even a question?!

I also think people slightly underestimate the number of White voters Humphrey got throughout the South.  I mean, it wasn't high, as Wallace scooped up most of the "working class" and rural White vote, with Nixon cleaning up in the suburbs and more traditionally conservative areas, but I don't think Humphrey got zero, either.

My great-grandparents in northeastern Mississippi were White, non-college educated Johnson 1964/Humphrey 1968 voters

[Intell]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

I seriously doubt this.  C'mon, you're talking about Southern, (mostly retired) college-educated White suburbanites in their 70s and 80s?  I think they'd be Trump voters.

Yeah ... wut?  How is this even a question?!

I also think people slightly underestimate the number of White voters Humphrey got throughout the South.  I mean, it wasn't high, as Wallace scooped up most of the "working class" and rural White vote, with Nixon cleaning up in the suburbs and more traditionally conservative areas, but I don't think Humphrey got zero, either.

My great-grandparents in northeastern Mississippi were White, non-college educated Johnson 1964/Humphrey 1968 voters

Did they always vote democrat?

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

I seriously doubt this.  C'mon, you're talking about Southern, (mostly retired) college-educated White suburbanites in their 70s and 80s?  I think they'd be Trump voters.

I've talked a few times here about the somewhat hidden political and religious divides between middle and upper-middle class suburban evangelicals and rural, working class evangelicals.  Transport a similar idea to a different era and set of issues, and you have this.

Now, note that the locations of these voters will not compare closely to the demographics who live in these locations today.  For example, my home of Williamson County, was a part of the rural South in 1972.  The sorts of people who live in Williamson County today mostly lived in Davidson County (especially in areas like Belle Meade and even some areas like Hillsboro Village).

An interesting anecdote of this transition is in the story of two Southern Baptist Churches, Belmont Heights Baptist Church and Clearview Baptist Church.  Belmont Heights was at one point a massive church that would see thousands of people attend its building on the edge of Belmont's campus (near Vanderbilt as well) in what was then a white, wealthy, conservative part of Nashville.  Eventually, many of the members at Belmont Heights started to move to Williamson County, and a group of members formed a church called Clearview Baptist Church in Franklin in the early 1990s.

In 2017, Belmont Heights Baptist Church was hanging on by a thread, still meeting in a small theater they leased from Belmont University only for Sunday mornings.  It was mostly comprised of 20-30 people who had been going there for decades, plus a small handful of college students and a few young couples (that had mostly come from recent efforts).  At the end of 2017, what was left of Belmont Heights merged with a large church in Franklin (called Rolling Hills) that was looking to establish a satellite campus in Nashville.  After that, Rolling Hills-Belmont Heights changed a lot of stylistic things to reach out to the New Nashville community.

Meanwhile, Clearview Baptist is (in some ways) what Belmont Heights was decades ago.  It certainly lacks the formality that was once seen in Belmont Heights, but it is now that thriving Southern Baptist church that has large crowds for worship on Sunday mornings (although it's smaller than Brentwood Baptist down the street).  Some of the founding members of Clearview (originally from Belmont Heights) still go to church there.  Clearview today is certainly not as "elite" as Belmont Heights was in the 1950s, but that has a lot to do with cultural changes in well-off suburbanites over the last 60-70 years.

[Del Tachi]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

I seriously doubt this.  C'mon, you're talking about Southern, (mostly retired) college-educated White suburbanites in their 70s and 80s?  I think they'd be Trump voters.

Yeah ... wut?  How is this even a question?!

I also think people slightly underestimate the number of White voters Humphrey got throughout the South.  I mean, it wasn't high, as Wallace scooped up most of the "working class" and rural White vote, with Nixon cleaning up in the suburbs and more traditionally conservative areas, but I don't think Humphrey got zero, either.

My great-grandparents in northeastern Mississippi were White, non-college educated Johnson 1964/Humphrey 1968 voters

Did they always vote democrat?

They definitely were from the 1940s-1950s, unsure how they voted in 1960.  They were Nixon/Carter/Carter, Dukakis, and Clinton/Dole voters too.  Unsure of their votes in 1984.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

I agree about both the Nixon and Wallace voters generally. I would say that an overwhelming majority of Wallace 1968 Southern voters still alive enthusiastically backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, whereas most surviving Nixon 1968 Southern voters probably backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

I seriously doubt this.  C'mon, you're talking about Southern, (mostly retired) college-educated White suburbanites in their 70s and 80s?  I think they'd be Trump voters.

Yeah ... wut?  How is this even a question?!

I also think people slightly underestimate the number of White voters Humphrey got throughout the South.  I mean, it wasn't high, as Wallace scooped up most of the "working class" and rural White vote, with Nixon cleaning up in the suburbs and more traditionally conservative areas, but I don't think Humphrey got zero, either.

Yeah, Humphrey winning Texas means that a sizable minority of white Southerners preferred him to Nixon and Wallace.

[Adem 45]

Generally speaking, Nixon won wealthier whites, as well as the typical ancestral Republicans, while Wallace won poorer working class whites.

Humphrey still held on to a chunk of the Southern White vote, especially in Texas.

[Calthrina950]

Wallace voters tended to be poor. Actual KKK members probably voted for Wallace. Nixon appealed to wealthy Goldwater voters who, even if segregationist, didn’t care for Confederate flags or Robert E. Lee statues. Nixon voters never again voted Democratic while some Wallace voters voted for Carter. In fact, Wallace himself endorsed Carter, as did Eastland.

Southern Senator is an expert on this.

A proportion of Wallace voters probably voted for Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton and Gore.

Nixon voters if suburban and wealthy/middle class stayed loyally republican, however if more rural and in unionist areas some of them switched over for Clinton, Carter and even Gore.

Certainly true. All four of these Democrats, for example, won Colbert, Jackson, and Lawrence Counties in Northern Alabama, which exemplifies this phenomenon. These counties were in the Appalachian or "TVA"-influenced section of the state. This was the region which was most resistant to Goldwater in 1964, and was like similar regions in Northern Georgia, South Carolina, and even Mississippi, where Johnson still got support from white voters who were opposed to the Civil Rights Act, but also objected to Goldwater's economic policies.

Lawrence County was the only one of the three to vote for Goldwater (and was more Democratic than the statewide average), with Colbert and Jackson supporting the Unpledged Democratic slate (as Johnson was not on the ballot in Alabama). In 1968, all three counties strongly backed Wallace, who won them with more than 80% or even 90% of the vote. In 1972, Nixon won them by landslide margins against McGovern. But in 1976, Carter won them back by landslide margins against Ford, and they voted Democratic in every presidential election over the next 24 years, until George W. Bush won them in 2004. Since then, they've become heavily Republican.

[baris39]

Generally speaking, Nixon won wealthier whites, as well as the typical ancestral Republicans, while Wallace won poorer working class whites.

Humphrey still held on to a chunk of the Southern White vote, especially in Texas.

Humphrey probably received roughly 1/3rd of Southern White vote in Texas and Kentucky. Probably received around 20% in Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida; 15% in North Carolina, 10% or less in Louisiana, Mississppi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.