How Democrats Can Win Back the South
In November of 2018, over 2,000,000 Tennesseans went to the poles to cast their vote to determine who would represent the Volunteer State in the United States Senate for the next few years. Former Governor Phil Bredesen, the last Democrat elected to statewide office in over twenty six years, lost to then-Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn by nine points. It was a stunning blow to the Democratic Party, which had formerly been optimistic about its chances in its ancestral homeland given how well-liked Bredesen was and is among Tennesseans. Bredesen’s defeat proved to be part of a series of disappointments for Democrats on election night 2018, with Stacey Abrams also narrowly losing the Governor’s race in Georgia and Ted Cruz defeating Beto O’Rourke by a slim margin in Texas. One would think that, with its recent failures in mind, the Democratic Party would have come up with a grand strategy to sweep the South once again. However, this has not been the case. Rather than make an earnest attempt at regaining lost electoral ground, Democrats have largely and shamefully ignored the South and have consistently suffered for it with each passing election. Given how close some of the races have been there as of late and the amount of electoral sway the South has as a region, it bears looking into how the Democratic Party could win back the states that it once dominated and make them solidly blue again.
Firstly, the major hurdle for Democrats to overcome in the South, identified by Harvard Kennedy School Professor and world-renowned campaign manager Steve Jarding in his book Foxes in the Hen House, is the prevalence of moral issues and the South and Democratic acquiescence to Republican definitions meant to put liberals at a disadvantage. Rather than simply accepting Republican definitions of Democratic policies as anti-family, anti-Christian, and anti-American, Democrats need to fight back against these notions due to how important each of these core values are to Southerners if they want to flip Southern states. Democrats must not be afraid to redefine what each of these things mean on their own terms in contrast to simply arguing against Republican definitions. As much as Republicans can paint Democrats as being anti-American due to their desire to slash the defense budget, Democrats can equally shoot back that, in terms of taking care of America’s men and women in uniform, Democrats can claim the high ground after Trump diverted funds from military projects in order to get funding for his border wall. This phenomenon of Republican hypocrisy on Defense issues didn’t begin with Trump, though. Former Republican President George W. Bush was embroiled in a controversy surrounding him allegedly dodging the draft for the Vietnam War while launching the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. By pointing out these iniquities, Democrats can win the South again.
In order to win again, Democrats also need to play up their advantages on economic issues. Given the fact that eight out of ten of America’s most impoverished states are located in the Southeast, the stronger social safety net advocated for by Democratic politicians would greatly benefit the South. Take, for example, the ongoing rural healthcare crisis that has left many Southerners without proper health care which has led to pop up clinics offering free medical services to those who would regularly be unable to afford them. While the government-funded program Medicare could have provided forced to seek help from this clinic, especially with the federally state-level expansions of it included in the Affordable Care Act, fourteen states with Republican state legislatures voted against it. As a result, the GOP bears at least some responsibility for this epidemic and deserves to be relentlessly lambasted by Democratic candidates for its abandonment of its most loyal constituents in their time of need. Republicans, in Jarding’s words, should not be able to keep “cry[ing] gay marriage, abortion, flag, apple pie, and motherhood” while ruthlessly kicking some of their most ardent supporters when they’re down by incessantly cutting the programs meant to help solve the problems that Southerners face on a daily basis and expect a win on election night. As such, the Democratic Party must craft and intently focus on a political message that highlights Republicans’ hypocrisy on economic issues in order to turn Southern red states blue.
Lastly, if Democrats are serious about retaking the South, a change in its political leadership is needed in order to nip two Republican claims in the bud: that Democrats are too liberal and that the Democratic Party is filled with coastal elites who don’t care about the South. As long and storied as Pelosi and Schumer’s political careers have been, their names have become synonymous with both of these attacks and serve as convenient bludgeons for Republican candidates to wield against their Democratic rivals in red states. New leadership spearheaded by a moderate hailing from the South or the Midwest would neutralize these claims, and, indeed, there are a few Representatives and Senators who fit the bill. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) in particular comes to mind when discussing this issue. Representing Alabama’s seventh congressional district, she is a member of the centrist New Democrat coalition with nearly a decade of experience under her belt, as well as an impressive record serving on the House Ways and Means Committee, all of which make her an ideal candidate for Speaker a few years down the line. Throughout her career, Sewell has fought hard for her constituents on the issues that plague rural Americans the most, with increased access to healthcare being the most prominent among them. As a Southerner and a moderate, Republican attacks of the Democratic Party veering too far to the left and having a contemptuous attitude towards the “hicks” living down South would be rendered moot if Sewell were to lead House Democrats. In the Senate, for many of the same reasons, Sen. Mark Warner’s credentials as a moderate Democrat representing Virginia in the Senate give him many of the same comparative advantages among Southerners as Rep. Sewell that a leader like Sen. Schumer does not currently have.
It is, therefore, entirely possible that Democrats could win back the South by putting these changes in place and truly beginning to formulate a strategy based around these principles. If Democrats want to win in the South, they need to stop arguing against Republican definitions of moral issues and create their own instead, thereby overcoming one of their greatest challenges that they face in the South. Furthermore, by hammering away at Republican mistreatment of their base when it comes to economic issues, Democrats can play up their advantages by highlighting their strength on economic issues and how increased funding for social programs can fundamentally change the South for the better instead of continuously allowing Republicans to spit in the eye of their constituents. Lastly, with regards to leadership, a change needs to be made due to how easily Republicans can use House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer against Democratic candidates in these red states. Instead, a moderate, Southern Democrat needs to be given the reigns of power in Washington so as to alter perceptions among Southerners that the Democratic Party serves the interests of coastal elites. All that the Democratic Party needs to do is start caring about the South again, rather than taking it as a given that Southern states will vote Republican.
