The Solid South

US Presidential Electoral College Map, 2008

For many, many years, the Democratic Party could count on the votes of the “Solid South” in any US Presidential election. When Al Smith ran, or Adlai Stevenson, despite having little in common with the average Southerner, the South was the one region they could count on winning. The South stayed solidly Democratic from 1876 to 1964.

Then, for a time, the Republicans were able to count on it. Since Nixon's second win in 1972, Democrats have been able to take the South only when running a candidate from the South (Carter, Clinton).

This large block is hard to beat in order to win an election. It's why Republican presidents were the norm for so long up to FDR; and it is why the Democrats have only won the presidency with Southerners since 1960.

Until Obama; Obama broke the mold, winning the presidency for the Democrats in 2008 despite being a Northerner, and despite not taking the South. It remains just possible that that was an anomaly, and that it will not happen a second time.