Reminder that all of those states were amazing for Democrats pre-1968. Everything changes with time. Many of those states are becoming unaffordable because there was so much displacement from blue states. It’s not easy to predict how voters will respond in 6 or 16 years…
That was more to do Nixon's southern strategy than any change in policy. Remember conservative bulwarks Jesse Helms and Trent Lott both started out as staffers for Democrats.
Nixon’s Southern Strategy only worked because LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act. He famously said “We have lost the south for a generation” after signing it.
No, it only worked because many white southerners were racists twats, and still were at least when I was living in Mississippi in the late 1980s. They still revere Andrew Jackson (founder of D) and hate Lincoln (founder of R), even though they are caucusing with the Republicans these days.
