The South is increasingly becoming a solid GOP bastion, particularly since the 2010 elections. The trend is so pervasive that Democrats are defecting to the Republican Party in droves. Since the midterms 24 state senators and representatives in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia have switched sides and joined the GOP. The region started trending Republican on the presidential level in 1964 in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign, but many lower offices remained in Democrat hands.
In recent years, however, Republican support has trickled down to the state and local level. All but two of the states in the region have Republican governors, and most state legislatures are under Republican control. The reason for the change: “the increased liberalization of the Democratic Party,” as stated by Emory University political science professor Merle Black. National Democrats hope to start reversing the trend in 2012, when they will hold their national convention in Charlotte, NC.