Why did Mississippi had a small swing in the 1980 election

[Bootes Void]

Jimmy Carter barely won Mississippi in 1976 and barely lost it in 1980 despite some sharp swings in most states during the 1980 election including most of the south. Why was this?

[Alben Barkley]

INELASTIC!

[TDAS04]

Likely that African American turnout was greater in 1980.

[Podgy the Bear]

This question was asked last year, and here was my response:



Presidential Elections - Analysis and Discussion / U.S. Presidential Election Results / Re: Why were Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama close in the 1980 election?   on: September 23, 2021, 02:24:08 PM

Even though Carter's vote slipped across the board in 1980, his decline in the rural white South was not as bad.  Plus, he did have an increased black vote in Deep South counties--which helped in states like MS and LA.  Carter's big drops in the South were in suburban areas where they voted for him in 1976--Cobb and Gwinnett counties in GA are good examples here.

[Stranger in a strange land]

This question was asked last year, and here was my response:



Presidential Elections - Analysis and Discussion / U.S. Presidential Election Results / Re: Why were Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama close in the 1980 election?   on: September 23, 2021, 02:24:08 PM

Even though Carter's vote slipped across the board in 1980, his decline in the rural white South was not as bad.  Plus, he did have an increased black vote in Deep South counties--which helped in states like MS and LA.  Carter's big drops in the South were in suburban areas where they voted for him in 1976--Cobb and Gwinnett counties in GA are good examples here.

If you look at the 1980 county map he won a bunch of white Southern rural areas that would be totally out of reach for any Democrat today. Plus also Reagan won a bunch of states by narrow margins, which made his win seem like even more of a landslide than it actually was. 

[TDAS04]

Ford beat Carter in Hinds County by 23 points, but Reagan only did so by 10.  Interesting.