Changing Southern Politics

Report Outline
New Interest in Elections in the South
Rise and Decline of Negro Voting Issue
Waning Power of the South in Congress

New Interest in Elections in the South

Battle lines are forming for 1966 state and congressional elections that will shed additional light on the South's changing political climate. The Solid South—that is, the solidly Democratic South—no longer exists. Since 1928, every one of the 11 states of the old Confederacy except Arkansas has voted Republican in a presidential election at least once.

Pressures from within and without have sharply altered the South's social and political structure in the past 15 years. The region is now more urban than rural, and re-apportionment of legislative and congressional districts has given the cities power they formerly lacked. Spurred by a series of federal civil rights laws, Negro voting has been rising steadily despite bitter white opposition in many areas. A new generation of southern leaders is coming to the fore as age depletes the ranks of the old guard. With some exceptions, the new leaders seem more concerned about enriching the South's future than preserving its past.

Key Contests for Congress and Governor, 1966

An unusually large number of southern governorships and U.S. Senate seats are to be filled in 1966. No fewer than 12 of the 22 incumbent senators from the 11 southern states must face the voters this year, and seven southern governors also are to be elected. Although some of these men, notably Sens. Eastland and McClellan and Gov. Connally, are virtually assured of remaining in office, most of them will encounter spirited opposition in the primaries, in the general election, or in both contests.