Exactly 40 years ago in 1964 Alabama became a Republican state as far as national politics are concerned. The 1964 election was the pivotal turning point when on that November day in 1964 the deep south states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina voted for Barry Goldwater and never looked back. It was the race issue that won them over. Goldwater and the Republican party captured the race issue and never let go of it. For this reason, the South which was known as the “Solid South” for more than six decades because they were solidly Democratic are today known as the “Solid South” because they are solidly Republican. In less than two weeks on election night when the national networks show the colored map on the television, the entire South will be colored Republican. The Presidential candidates ignore us during the campaign because it is a foregone conclusion that we will vote Republican. In this same way the Presidential candidates ignored us for the first 60 years of the 20th Century because it was a foregone conclusion that we were going to vote democratic.
From 1900 to 1964 Alabama voted democratically for President in every election except two, 1928 and 1948. In those years Alabama voted for third party candidates like Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948 and not for a Republican. Out of those 64 years election results were 14 Democrats, zero Republicans, and two Third Party candidates – that’s pretty solidly Democratic. Look what has happened since that eventful 1964 Goldwater breakthrough – in the past 40 years, assuming Bush carries Alabama in this election, there have been 10 Republican wins and one Democratic victory. So to say that 1964 was a pivotal turning point would be an understatement.
