Democrats won back the South. Now their challenge is to keep it

Democrats made historic gains with voters in the Southern U.S. Now the party needs to figure out how to keep them. The U.S. South, the country’s fastest-growing region, has been out of reach for Democrats for a generation — and even then, it was a very different Democratic Party. The last two Democrats to represent South Carolina and Mississippi in the U.S. Senate were, at one point in their careers, segregationists. kAmqFE s6>@4C2E:4 42?5:52E6D C@56 !C6D:56?E s@?2=5 %CF>A’D A=F?8:?8 A@AF=2C:EJ 2?5 64@?@>:4 7CFDEC2E:@?D E@ H:? DE2E6H:56 C246D :? }@CE9 r2C@=:?2[ $@FE9 r2C@=:?2[ v6@C8:2[ %6I2D 2?5 |:DD:DD:AA:]k^Am kAm%96J ?2CC@H=J >:DD65 $6?2E6 G:4E@C:6D :? {@F:D:2?2 2?5 u=@C:52] v~! w@FD6 DEC@?89@=5D E9C@F89@FE E96 C68:@? 7=:AA65[ 2D 5:5 8@G6C?@CD9:AD 2?5 DE2E6 2DD6>3=:6D]k^Am kAmx? |:DD:DD:AA:[ s6>@4C2E $4@EE r@=@> 3642>6 E96 7:CDE q=24< 6=64E65 E@ E96 $6?2E6 7C@> E96 DE2E6 D:?46 `gfc[ 5FC:?8 E96 A@DE\r:G:= (2C #64@?DECF4E:@? 6C2]k^Am kAmp $FAC6>6 r@FCE 564:D:@? 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