Once the stronghold of presidential politics, the Deep South, by largely supporting Sen. John McCain, may have marginalized itself for the near future. By voting against president-elect Barak Obama, the region “is becoming distinctly less important,” Wayne Parent, a political scientist at LSU, told the New York Times. “The South has moved from being the center of the political universe to being an outside player in presidential politics.”
The NYT characterizes southern counties (and parishes) that voted Republican as being poorer, less educated and whiter, and claims that many of the votes cast were based on racial fears. “Race continues to play a major role in the state,” Glenn Feldman, a historian at the University of Alabama, Birmingham told the NYT. “Alabama, unfortunately, continues to remain shackled to the bonds of yesterday.” To read the rest of the story, which analyzes the presidential vote by county compared to the 2004 election, click here.