Once known as the “Solid South” for its political allegiance to the Democratic party, the new allegiance of the region is more checkered. Any Republican running for office statewide must deal with a new GOP loyalty and the Democratic history. This state-by-state analysis shows the similarities and differences of political loyalty in states like Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Virginia. Along with their six sister states, the American South is now home to nearly one-third of the American electorate.

The “Old Confederacy” no longer describes the American South, the region is now global in reach and feisty in its loyalty to historical ideas. The book examines changing demography, geographic loyalty, racial population changes and religious effects in recent elections. No other part of the nation has the scar of a military defeat in its history, but the South today is not looking back. Instead it is anticipating an increased role in national politics.