A Suburban Eden Where the Right Rules

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

It is a long way culturally and politically from Roslyn, L.I., to conservative Cobb County. But Mitchell Kaye, who two years ago became the first Jewish Republican in Georgia history ever elected to the State Legislature, seems to have made the transition.

"Every year they release two liberal Democrats in the wild here so they don't become an endangered species," said Mr. Kaye, a 36-year-old, first-term State Representative who grew up on Long Island and moved to Georgia after going to college in Florida. "If Bill Clinton came into the district, he probably would not see the light of day again."

It is a long way culturally and politically from Roslyn, L.I., to conservative Cobb County. But Mitchell Kaye, who two years ago became the first Jewish Republican in Georgia history ever elected to the State Legislature, seems to have made the transition.

"Every year they release two liberal Democrats in the wild here so they don't become an endangered species," said Mr. Kaye, a 36-year-old, first-term State Representative who grew up on Long Island and moved to Georgia after going to college in Florida. "If Bill Clinton came into the district, he probably would not see the light of day again."

Newt Gingrich, who represents 70 percent of the county in Congress, is not just one of the growing cadre of Southern Republicans who are accounting for much of the party's growth, he is in line to be the next House minority leader and, should the party gain control of the House, perhaps the first Republican Speaker since Joseph W. Martin Jr. of Massachusetts in 1955.

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The phrase New South, vaguely denoting a reasonably tolerant place where people wear shoes and don't support segregation, has become enough of an empty cliche that the novelist Walker Percy once groused, "My definition of a new South would be a South in which it never occurred to anybody to mention the New South."

Link:https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/01/us/a-suburban-eden-where-the-right-rules.html
Very ironic that Cobb County has become the centre of 2 shifts in politics, first from the democratic mahine era to the republican er and now finally it brings the state back to the democrats.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Blast from the past.

[Sol]

Well that is the classic Southern dynamic--you can see the same pattern even in urban core counties in Southern cities.

[forsythvoter]

Ironically, I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaye is now a Democrat or at minimum an Independent. Voters with his profile (transplants from the North, probably fiscally conservative but socially more liberal) were among the first cohort of voters that turned blue in the N Atlanta suburbs in places like Sandy Springs.

[lfromnj]

Ironically, I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaye is now a Democrat or at minimum an Independent. Voters with his profile (transplants from the North, probably fiscally conservative but socially more liberal) were among the first cohort of voters that turned blue in the N Atlanta suburbs in places like Sandy Springs.

https://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/trump-good-jews-israel-america/

[Alcibiades]

Ironically, I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaye is now a Democrat or at minimum an Independent. Voters with his profile (transplants from the North, probably fiscally conservative but socially more liberal) were among the first cohort of voters that turned blue in the N Atlanta suburbs in places like Sandy Springs.

Actually, it seems from the only source I could find of him (columns for the Atlanta Jewish Times) he is still a right-wing Republican, which doesn’t surprise me; someone who was involved enough in right-wing politics to seek office 25 years ago still probably has those views, and more broadly much of the change in areas like the Atlanta suburbs is being driven by demographic change, rather than long-time residents changing their views.

[forsythvoter]

Ironically, I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaye is now a Democrat or at minimum an Independent. Voters with his profile (transplants from the North, probably fiscally conservative but socially more liberal) were among the first cohort of voters that turned blue in the N Atlanta suburbs in places like Sandy Springs.

https://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/trump-good-jews-israel-america/

Oh interesting, he's also a neocon. But I think my point about that profile of voters swinging D is very much in play across the Northern Suburbs. Demographics have certainly changed a bit but nowhere near as vote as the vote balance has changed.

[Idaho Conservative]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

[forsythvoter]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

I also think generational turnover is a significant factor. The grandchildren of a lot of the voters in 1994 have now entered the voting-eligible population and we're not voting 75% R like our grandparents were. It's pretty clear in Atlanta that voters younger than 45, whether they are native born or transplants don't vote anywhere near as R as voters 60+, particularly among the white population.

[Idaho Conservative]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

I also think generational turnover is a significant factor. The grandchildren of a lot of the voters in 1994 have now entered the voting-eligible population and we're not voting 75% R like our grandparents were. It's pretty clear in Atlanta that voters younger than 45, whether they are native born or transplants don't vote anywhere near as R as voters 60+, particularly among the white population.

except that hasn't happened everywhere.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Ironically, I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaye is now a Democrat or at minimum an Independent. Voters with his profile (transplants from the North, probably fiscally conservative but socially more liberal) were among the first cohort of voters that turned blue in the N Atlanta suburbs in places like Sandy Springs.

That is inaccurate, the Republican sunbelt suburbs were not Fiscal Conservatives/Socially Liberal voters at all . Remember Orange County was the one who spearheaded things like prop 187 , extremely tough on law and order and all.

Also places like Collin County in 2008 were considered the stereotypical religious right area: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/oct/26/uselections2008-republicans

At first glance the church looks like a sparkling new office development, identical to many other buildings popping up on farmland as these 'exurbs' of Dallas succumb to development. But the large cross on its front reveals the truth. Taken as a whole, Prestonwood now has almost 30,000 members, making it one of the largest churches in America. It was recently named as one of America's 50 most influential churches.

It certainly fits in in Prosper. Once a hamlet, it is gradually being swallowed by the suburbs, but its politics remain God and guns.

In places like Maricopa County they used to elect people like Joe Arpaio over and over and in 2000 he got 67% of the vote there while Bush got 53%

[forsythvoter]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

I also think generational turnover is a significant factor. The grandchildren of a lot of the voters in 1994 have now entered the voting-eligible population and we're not voting 75% R like our grandparents were. It's pretty clear in Atlanta that voters younger than 45, whether they are native born or transplants don't vote anywhere near as R as voters 60+, particularly among the white population.

except that hasn't happened everywhere.

I actually think it's happened in many other ancestrally D and R places. I think it's far more likely to happen in lopsided places in general for the simple reason that 75%+ for a party is difficult to sustain for any party over multiple generations given the ever shifting policy platforms. The exception to this seems to be the black vote, although there are some historical reasons there.

[forsythvoter]

Ironically, I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaye is now a Democrat or at minimum an Independent. Voters with his profile (transplants from the North, probably fiscally conservative but socially more liberal) were among the first cohort of voters that turned blue in the N Atlanta suburbs in places like Sandy Springs.

That is inaccurate, the Republican sunbelt suburbs were not Fiscal Conservatives/Socially Liberal voters at all . Remember Orange County was the one who spearheaded things like prop 187 , extremely tough on law and order and all.

Also places like Collin County in 2008 were considered the stereotypical religious right area: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/oct/26/uselections2008-republicans

At first glance the church looks like a sparkling new office development, identical to many other buildings popping up on farmland as these 'exurbs' of Dallas succumb to development. But the large cross on its front reveals the truth. Taken as a whole, Prestonwood now has almost 30,000 members, making it one of the largest churches in America. It was recently named as one of America's 50 most influential churches.

It certainly fits in in Prosper. Once a hamlet, it is gradually being swallowed by the suburbs, but its politics remain God and guns.

In places like Maricopa County they used to elect people like Joe Arpaio over and over and in 2000 he got 67% of the vote there while Bush got 53%

No doubt Cobb used to be more socially conservative - my grandparents certainly were in that camp. But still not 80% socially conservative like the election results would have you believe. I grew up in East Cobb for example and remember the 2004 gay marriage amendment. Bush got like 80% in my parent's then precinct but the marriage amendment only got around 60% support. The results in areas like Sandy Springs were even more dramatic. There clearly were some voters who weren't voting R for social reasons that I would suspect were among the first to flip, especially after Trump became President.

[Indy Texas]

Ironically, I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaye is now a Democrat or at minimum an Independent. Voters with his profile (transplants from the North, probably fiscally conservative but socially more liberal) were among the first cohort of voters that turned blue in the N Atlanta suburbs in places like Sandy Springs.

Actually, it seems from the only source I could find of him (columns for the Atlanta Jewish Times) he is still a right-wing Republican, which doesn’t surprise me; someone who was involved enough in right-wing politics to seek office 25 years ago still probably has those views, and more broadly much of the change in areas like the Atlanta suburbs is being driven by demographic change, rather than long-time residents changing their views.

More broadly, if you've made your career/reputation/network in politics, you're much less likely to change those views because the cost to doing so is much higher for you than for some random apolitical person to just decide that they're going to vote for the other party when they're in the voting booth every other November.

[RINO Tom]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

[Idaho Conservative]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

[RINO Tom]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

Yes.  Young professionals moving to metro areas for “corporate” opportunities aren’t some inherently liberal demographic.  In fact, the types moving to the suburbs of Atlanta in the 1990s would be in their 50s now and are likely Republicans and certainly were then, probably through the early 2000s at least.  It’s OUR fault we aren’t appealing to this type of voter who should naturally favor a conservative party ... the fact we are not anymore does not redefine “conservatism.”

[Idaho Conservative]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

Yes.  Young professionals moving to metro areas for “corporate” opportunities aren’t some inherently liberal demographic.  In fact, the types moving to the suburbs of Atlanta in the 1990s would be in their 50s now and are likely Republicans and certainly were then, probably through the early 2000s at least.  It’s OUR fault we aren’t appealing to this type of voter who should naturally favor a conservative party ... the fact we are not anymore does not redefine “conservatism.”

GA has been trending Democratic on the presidential level since well before Trump.  If the electorate of Cobb was the same today as it was in the 1990s, it would be safely Republican.  Secular whites and minorities have long been liberal voting blocs, they simply made up a much smaller share of the electorate back then.  Of course Trump did help accelerate the trend, but considering the 2012 to 2014 swing (or lack thereof) indicated GA was going blue before Trump.   

[lfromnj]

Tom Murphy was playing the long con . The suburbs may have helped the GOP take him out finally but may finally be taking the GOP out

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Murphy_(Georgia_politician)

During his tenure, Murphy was a key figure in Georgia's economic development and throughout statewide politics; and was considered by many to be the best friend Atlanta ever had in the legislature despite his rural residency and upbringing.

[OSR stands with Israel]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

Yes.  Young professionals moving to metro areas for “corporate” opportunities aren’t some inherently liberal demographic.  In fact, the types moving to the suburbs of Atlanta in the 1990s would be in their 50s now and are likely Republicans and certainly were then, probably through the early 2000s at least.  It’s OUR fault we aren’t appealing to this type of voter who should naturally favor a conservative party ... the fact we are not anymore does not redefine “conservatism.”

GA has been trending Democratic on the presidential level since well before Trump.  If the electorate of Cobb was the same today as it was in the 1990s, it would be safely Republican.  Secular whites and minorities have long been liberal voting blocs, they simply made up a much smaller share of the electorate back then.  Of course Trump did help accelerate the trend, but considering the 2012 to 2014 swing (or lack thereof) indicated GA was going blue before Trump.   

That’s not the main reason  GA has trended D though , this is why and much of this gain in turnout comes from the Atlanta suburbs

https://mobile.twitter.com/Nate_Cohn/status/1328664224722247681


2nd Obama by many accounts did worse in 2012 with GA whites than Kerry did in 2004 yet did almost 10 points better due to this jump plus significantly more Millianials coming of age . The problem for republicans in Georgia is not people coming in but the fact that Millianials are much to the left of the older generations and given that Republicans need 70/71 percent of the white vote to win in Georgia , Millianials and gen z making up more and more of the share of the white vote makes reaching that number much harder .


The solution in Georgia for republicans is to try to improve with African American voters not chase after demographic numbers which are no longer possible

[SNJ1985]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

Yes.  Young professionals moving to metro areas for “corporate” opportunities aren’t some inherently liberal demographic.  In fact, the types moving to the suburbs of Atlanta in the 1990s would be in their 50s now and are likely Republicans and certainly were then, probably through the early 2000s at least.  It’s OUR fault we aren’t appealing to this type of voter who should naturally favor a conservative party ... the fact we are not anymore does not redefine “conservatism.”

Who's redefining conservatism?

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conservatism

'''Conservatism''' is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, hierarchy, and authority, as established in respective cultures, as well as property rights.

Based on this definition, social/cultural conservatism is clearly a more integral aspect of conservatism than pro-business economic policies.

[Idaho Conservative]

Tom Murphy was playing the long con . The suburbs may have helped the GOP take him out finally but may finally be taking the GOP out

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Murphy_(Georgia_politician)

During his tenure, Murphy was a key figure in Georgia's economic development and throughout statewide politics; and was considered by many to be the best friend Atlanta ever had in the legislature despite his rural residency and upbringing.

He didn't intend for it to happen I'm sure, but certainly his policies took GA to the left.  the GA Dems today are way to the left of the GA Dems back then. 

[Idaho Conservative]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

Yes.  Young professionals moving to metro areas for “corporate” opportunities aren’t some inherently liberal demographic.  In fact, the types moving to the suburbs of Atlanta in the 1990s would be in their 50s now and are likely Republicans and certainly were then, probably through the early 2000s at least.  It’s OUR fault we aren’t appealing to this type of voter who should naturally favor a conservative party ... the fact we are not anymore does not redefine “conservatism.”

GA has been trending Democratic on the presidential level since well before Trump.  If the electorate of Cobb was the same today as it was in the 1990s, it would be safely Republican.  Secular whites and minorities have long been liberal voting blocs, they simply made up a much smaller share of the electorate back then.  Of course Trump did help accelerate the trend, but considering the 2012 to 2014 swing (or lack thereof) indicated GA was going blue before Trump.   

That’s not the main reason  GA has trended D though , this is why and much of this gain in turnout comes from the Atlanta suburbs



2nd Obama by many accounts did worse in 2012 with GA whites than Kerry did in 2004 yet did almost 10 points better due to this jump plus significantly more Millianials coming of age . The problem for republicans in Georgia is not people coming in but the fact that Millianials are much to the left of the older generations and given that Republicans need 70/71 percent of the white vote to win in Georgia , Millianials and gen z making up more and more of the share of the white vote makes reaching that number much harder .


The solution in Georgia for republicans is to try to improve with African American voters not chase after demographic numbers which are no longer possible

It is people coming in though.  If it was simply a generational thing, every state would be experiencing the same leftward swing.  Yes, there are a variety of factors, but certainly the growth in sprawl is the single biggest one.  The state is pretty much destined to go blue, unless Republicans learn to fight like Dems and actually do what they are accused of doing by the likes of Stacy Abrhams.

[OSR stands with Israel]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

Yes.  Young professionals moving to metro areas for “corporate” opportunities aren’t some inherently liberal demographic.  In fact, the types moving to the suburbs of Atlanta in the 1990s would be in their 50s now and are likely Republicans and certainly were then, probably through the early 2000s at least.  It’s OUR fault we aren’t appealing to this type of voter who should naturally favor a conservative party ... the fact we are not anymore does not redefine “conservatism.”

GA has been trending Democratic on the presidential level since well before Trump.  If the electorate of Cobb was the same today as it was in the 1990s, it would be safely Republican.  Secular whites and minorities have long been liberal voting blocs, they simply made up a much smaller share of the electorate back then.  Of course Trump did help accelerate the trend, but considering the 2012 to 2014 swing (or lack thereof) indicated GA was going blue before Trump.   

That’s not the main reason  GA has trended D though , this is why and much of this gain in turnout comes from the Atlanta suburbs



2nd Obama by many accounts did worse in 2012 with GA whites than Kerry did in 2004 yet did almost 10 points better due to this jump plus significantly more Millianials coming of age . The problem for republicans in Georgia is not people coming in but the fact that Millianials are much to the left of the older generations and given that Republicans need 70/71 percent of the white vote to win in Georgia , Millianials and gen z making up more and more of the share of the white vote makes reaching that number much harder .


The solution in Georgia for republicans is to try to improve with African American voters not chase after demographic numbers which are no longer possible

It is people coming in though.  If it was simply a generational thing, every state would be experiencing the same leftward swing.  Yes, there are a variety of factors, but certainly the growth in sprawl is the single biggest one.  The state is pretty much destined to go blue, unless Republicans learn to fight like Dems and actually do what they are accused of doing by the likes of Stacy Abrhams.

Most other states don’t require Republicans to win the white vote by over 40 points just to win the state , while that is required in Georgia . Trump still won White voters under 30 in Georgia by a  60%-38% margin which by the way is better than they do in most Midwestern states . On the other hand in Ohio Trump won White voters overall 60-39. The fact is Millianials have just made getting over 71-72% of the white vote in Georgia more and more difficult as they make up a larger share of the electorate . So the solution for republicans is Georgia should be try to do better with African Americans not act like we still live 2004.

https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/georgia/5

https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/ohio


Also your point about people moving in , the fact is  before 2010 people who used to move  in were overwhelmingly republican. Ted Cruz won Texas votes who moved to Texas but moved before the 2010s with 63% of the vote so saying people moving in is bad isn’t true cause it wasn’t until this past decade when most of these policies were enacted .  One of the reasons Texas became so Republican was the fact that hundreds of thousands of conservative Californians from SoCal moved their following the collapse of the Cold War defense industry

https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls/texas/senate

[Idaho Conservative]

What happened in Atlanta is the inevitable end result of "conservative" pro business policies. They attracted large corporations which attracted lots of left leaning transplants.  If Cobb had the demographics of 1994, it would still be red. 

No need to put “conservative” in quotes there ... those policies were clearly conservative.

Depends how you define conservative.  If a nominally conservative policy leads to non-conservative outcomes, can it truly be considered conservative?  The implications of a policy matter. 

Yes.  Young professionals moving to metro areas for “corporate” opportunities aren’t some inherently liberal demographic.  In fact, the types moving to the suburbs of Atlanta in the 1990s would be in their 50s now and are likely Republicans and certainly were then, probably through the early 2000s at least.  It’s OUR fault we aren’t appealing to this type of voter who should naturally favor a conservative party ... the fact we are not anymore does not redefine “conservatism.”

GA has been trending Democratic on the presidential level since well before Trump.  If the electorate of Cobb was the same today as it was in the 1990s, it would be safely Republican.  Secular whites and minorities have long been liberal voting blocs, they simply made up a much smaller share of the electorate back then.  Of course Trump did help accelerate the trend, but considering the 2012 to 2014 swing (or lack thereof) indicated GA was going blue before Trump.   

That’s not the main reason  GA has trended D though , this is why and much of this gain in turnout comes from the Atlanta suburbs



2nd Obama by many accounts did worse in 2012 with GA whites than Kerry did in 2004 yet did almost 10 points better due to this jump plus significantly more Millianials coming of age . The problem for republicans in Georgia is not people coming in but the fact that Millianials are much to the left of the older generations and given that Republicans need 70/71 percent of the white vote to win in Georgia , Millianials and gen z making up more and more of the share of the white vote makes reaching that number much harder .


The solution in Georgia for republicans is to try to improve with African American voters not chase after demographic numbers which are no longer possible

It is people coming in though.  If it was simply a generational thing, every state would be experiencing the same leftward swing.  Yes, there are a variety of factors, but certainly the growth in sprawl is the single biggest one.  The state is pretty much destined to go blue, unless Republicans learn to fight like Dems and actually do what they are accused of doing by the likes of Stacy Abrhams.

Most other states don’t require Republicans to win the white vote by over 40 points just to win the state , while that is required in Georgia . Trump still won White voters under 30 in Georgia by a  60%-38% margin which by the way is better than they do in most Midwestern states . On the other hand in Ohio Trump won White voters overall 60-39. The fact is Millianials have just made getting over 71-72% of the white vote in Georgia more and more difficult as they make up a larger share of the electorate . So the solution for republicans is Georgia should be try to do better with African Americans not act like we still live 2004.

https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/georgia/5


https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/ohio


Also your point about people moving in , the fact is  before 2010 people who used to move  in were overwhelmingly republican. Ted Cruz won Texas votes who moved to Texas but moved before the 2010s with 63% of the vote so saying people moving in is bad isn’t true cause it wasn’t until this past decade when most of these policies were enacted .  One of the reasons Texas became so Republican was the fact that hundreds of thousands of conservative Californians from SoCal moved their following the collapse of the Cold War defense industry

https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls/texas/senate

People moving to Texas aren't the same as those moving into GA.  Texas is attracting a lot of conservative transplants, GA has gotten a lot of African Americans from decaying rust belt and northeastern cities.  And yeah, white voters in general are more conservative in the south than the north.  But this trend isn't exactly visible in other deep southern states also dependent on huge margins among white voters.  Also, if what you were saying was true about this mainly being generational, it wouldn't only be in the suburbs.  The suburbs is where the growth has been in the past few decades, and that's where the blue shift has happened.  GA was basically the same as AL demographically in the 70s and 80s.  Growth in the 90s and 21st century is the difference between a tossup and a state that votes R by a 20-30 point margin.