The Southern Strategy was a Republican Party policy to gain support in the southern US by using issues traditionally supported by residents of Southern states, such as segregation and Southern values. The strategy caused a shift in political power in the region, but by the end of the 20th century, the South had lost its prominence in national elections. The strategy now focuses on fringe issues nationwide to generate support in new regions.
Southern strategy is the policy of the Republican Party in the United States to gain political support in the southern part of the country. Politically, the concept generally uses issues traditionally supported by residents of Southern states to win elections in those places. As segregation continued into the late 20th century in the region, the Republican Party officially attempted to use this wedge issue as a way to gain support for their political faction in these states. In addition to the issue of segregation between white and African-American residents, the party also used Southern values of religion, gun control, and distrust of the counterculture to win votes.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Republican Party generally opposed desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement. This stance caused a major shift in African-American community voting practices in support of the Democratic Party, the faction that helped legislate laws like the Voting Rights Act. Party officials, most notably President Richard Nixon’s political strategist Kevin Phillips , realized that for the Republicans to win in the southern states, they needed to focus their attention on the Caucasian population.
The Republican Party’s implementation of the Southern Strategy represented a major shift in political power in the region. Since the Civil War, the Democratic Party has been the major force in the South due to its support for the region during Reconstruction. Additionally, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln was seen as the primary instigator of the war by most Southern residents. Between the 1950s and early 1980s, the South moved toward greater support for Republicans. At the same time, much of the North and West became a major supporter of the Democrats.
Despite the Republican shift, by the end of the 20th century, it was generally understood that the South had lost its prominence as a major prize in presidential and national elections. Without an electoral vote majority or heavy population, the district’s distribution of power shifted to the Northeast, California, and Texas. According to election results since 1984, any president-elect would take office regardless of Southern votes.
During the 1990s and into the early 21st century, the concept of the Southern Strategy focused less on the region known as the “Bible Belt” and more on a general principle. Using fringe issues such as family values, abortion, and gun ownership threats, both sides attempt to segment their ideology into different parts. Voters during this period followed suit, making factors involving leadership and legislation secondary to candidates’ positions on wedge issues. Republicans use the conservative principles of the Southern Strategy nationwide to help generate support in new regions of the country.
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