What's with states like OK and LA? (user search)
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  Political Geography & Demographics (Moderators: muon2, 15 Down, 35 To Go)
  What's with states like OK and LA? (search mode)
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Author Topic: What's with states like OK and LA?  (Read 25006 times)
agcatter
agcat
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« on: February 14, 2004, 12:54:07 PM »

Democrats can be very competitive for state offices down the ballot if they can portray themselve somewhere in the middle.  At the national level, it's tough for a Democratic Presidential candidate to portay himself as anything but a liberal.  Social issues kill them in the South.  In order to appeal to their base liberal constituencies they take positions that just can't fly in the South.

Carter in 76 was perceived as a moderate conservative in the South and carried the entire South.  However, after governing as a liberal for 4 yrs his true colors came out and i believe he lost the entire South outside his native Georgia.

Clinton had some success as portraying himself as a "moderate" southern governor and siphoned off some Southern states.  No outside the South national Democrat has carried a single Southern state since Kennedy in 60.  It just can't be done and Kerry will have to put together his EV coalition outside the South.

Now here in Texas, over the last 10 years the Democratic Party has imploded all down the ballot.  Every state wide office from governor down to railroad commissioner, the entire Texas Supreme Court, and both houses of the state legislature are in complete GOP control.  Not one statewide office is held by a Democrat.  The closest race was for Lt Governor, the Dem candidate ran as a moderate cons. and came within 6 pts.  The rest of the state ticket just got buried.  HOWEVER, GOP dominance all the way down the ballot is the exception in the South, not the rule.  Exit polls showed in 2000 that a clear plurality of voters considered themselves Republicans.  That is NOT the case in the other southern states.
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agcatter
agcat
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« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2004, 06:38:25 PM »

As Zackman pointed out, big differences on social issues.  New England and the South would definitely be polar opposites in that area.
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