A New York Times article recently reported the rising influence of the GOP in the Midwest and Southern regions. The 2010 midterm elections catapulted the GOP to dominance in Southern state legislatures, Midwestern state legislatures and Midwestern governorships. The public discontent with a dire job market are sending democratic leanings toward the seas. Democrats now are faced with a bicoastal base.
That democratic political exodus in the Midwest leaves state legislatures to a dwindling 38 percent democratic representation. Midwest states that join their southern counterparts with a republican legislative majority include Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Midwest states that switched a democratic governorship with a republican include Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The severity of the “shellacking” expressed by President Obama on the eve of the results is evident with the fervid response from America’s heartland.
Surprisingly, the South also showed a fluctuation towards republican trends that were historically democratic. Known is the South’s religious support of conservative advocacy, but southern states consistently had left of center representatives to balance the conservative senatorial power. The New York Times reports “Through the 1990s, Deep South states often sent Republicans to Washington while voting for Democrats back home.”
The Midwest was once a democratic solace with the idea that the blue collar workers would not look past the hue of their collars when voting. The vast rural region with connecting urban hubs was taken for granted. When the dire job market didn’t feel like a priority, apparently voting democratic also wasn’t a priority for many of the Midwesterners where the concern is with the prospect of consistent incomes.