The New Southern Strategy

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

The New Southern Strategy
Democrats Tap Conservative Candidates in GOP Bastions
By GREG HITT
August 7, 2008; Page A1

PRATTVILLE, Ala -- This is how shaky Republican fortunes are in 2008: In one of the most conservative corners of the conservative South, Democrats stand a good chance of winning a congressional seat. This working-class, mostly rural district has been controlled by Republicans since 1964, when Alabama's white electorate began its long turn away from the Democratic Party. In 2004, President George W. Bush won 67% of the district's vote. Today's leading candidate is Bobby Bright, a self-styled "Southern conservative" and sharecropper's son from remote Alabama farm country. In another era, he would have run as a Republican. But he's a Democrat, and early polls strongly suggest he can win.

Spurred by the souring economy and a newfound willingness to embrace conservative candidates, the Democratic Party is running its most competitive campaign across the South in 40 years, fielding potential winners along a rib of states stretching from Louisiana to Virginia, the heart of the Old Confederacy. Sen. Barack Obama's ability to excite African-American voters in certain Southern races could provide an additional boost, too. The party's rising prospects point toward a once unthinkable goal: a reversal of the "Great Reversal," the switch in political loyalties in the 1960s that made the South a Republican stronghold for a generation. If the current picture holds, Democrats could use the Southern strength to help craft a workable Senate majority and expand their majority in the House of Representatives. At the very least, it widens the field of competitive seats, forcing Republicans to fight fires in once-reliably solid areas.

(snip)

Mr. Bright toyed with the idea of running as a Republican. He spoke with party activists "and prayed on it." But he decided that he felt more at home with the Democrats, whom he describes as the party of working people and the party of diversity.

(snip)

But this spring, the party won special elections for House seats in heavily Republican parts of Mississippi and Louisiana. Democrats consistently outnumbered Republicans across the South in this year's presidential primaries. And in the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll, conducted last month, Southern voters said they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress over a Republican one by a 44% to 40% margin, a reversal of the long-term historical patterns... In early 2007, both parties expected only 35 to 40 House seats out of 435 to be truly competitive. Now, half a dozen Republican-held House seats across the South, including rural districts in Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana and South Carolina, are growing more competitive. That makes life tougher for Republicans already facing a 19-seat deficit.

(snip)

Why the South is moving toward Democrats today is an easier question to answer. One reason: With anxiety high about the economy, more voters are looking to Democrats amid a surge of populist sentiment and an embrace of activist government... Democrats have also made efforts to recruit candidates who reflect the values of local districts. Not that long ago, party leaders picked from a list of liberal stalwarts who matched national party sentiments on issues such as gun rights and abortion. Now the focus is finding candidates "who would win," says one senior strategist.

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URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121807022975219007.html (subscription)

[trof]

1. Bright is mayor of Montgomery.

Fairly well liked, from what I hear.

Bobby Neal Bright is an American politician who is the current mayor of Montgomery, Alabama and Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative from Alabama's 2nd District. He was first elected in the municipal elections in 1999, defeating longtime incumbent Republican Emory Folmar. Bright was re-elected in a landslide against challenger Scott Simmons in the 2003 municipal elections. Prior to becoming mayor, Bright was a local lawyer. He is married to Montgomery County District Judge Lynn Clardy Bright. He has three children: Bobby Neal Jr., Lisa Lynn, and Katie Clardy. Bright is an alumnus of Auburn University, Troy University, and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law of Faulkner University.