Red and inherently conservative. That’s the assumption many people have about the South.
While there’s an element of truth to this, things are changing. Partisan polarization may still reign in American politics, but the red and blue demarcations are not so clear-cut anymore. While Republican lawmakers have skewed evermore rightward, the voters they represent are far more moderate.
What were considered solidly red states a generation ago—think Texas, where President Joe Biden earned 46.48 percent of the vote in 2020 (the highest percentage for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976) despite Republicans projecting a landslide victory, and Georgia, which President Biden carried in that election—are increasingly purple, with bits of both red and blue.
