Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

Path to beat Trump runs through Dem’s 'New Southern Strategy': data expert

alternet.org · 4h · first reportShare

CNN Data analyst Harry Enten revealed that President Donald Trump is now losing the to a new "Southern Strategy." For generations, many white Southern voters supported Democrats. But after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, many opposed the national Democratic Party’s new direction. Republican candidates, especially Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon, sought the support of those voters through what became known as the “Southern Strategy.” Campaign language shifted away from explicit talk of segregation toward issues such as “states’ rights” and “law and order.” Over the following decades, the strategy helped turn much of the South from a Democratic stronghold into a Republican one. But new data suggests that support for the parties may be shifting again ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democratic candidates are pulling ahead in Southern states, including Texas’ James Talarico, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.). Enten said the potential Democra