White voters are moving to the South and making it more Democratic
By Danny Hayes January 2 at 5:00 AM
One of the biggest U.S. political stories of 2017 was the boost that the Democratic Party got in elections across the country, widely interpreted as part of a backlash against the Trump presidency. And much of the party’s success came where few expected it — in the South.
In November, Democrats swept statewide races in Virginia, picking up more than a dozen seats in the House of Delegates. In December, Democrat Doug Jones’s victory in the U.S. Senate election in Alabama spurred talk of the party’s resurgence in a region where Republicans have dominated for three decades.
These Democratic victories resulted in large part from high turnout and overwhelming support and activism among black voters. But recent research suggests that Democrats are also benefiting from another phenomenon — whites who have moved to the South. Since World War II, Americans have been migrating South. That’s picked up in recent years, aided by a relatively strong economy and — as anyone north of the Mason-Dixon line this week will appreciate — balmy winters. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 10 of the fastest-growing U.S. cities in 2016 were in the South, five in Texas.
How is this changing the Southern electorate?
In a new article, political scientists Sunshine Hillygus, Seth McKee, and McKenzie Young show that whites who have moved to the South are more likely to be Democratic than lifelong Southerners.
They draw this conclusion by looking at data going back to the 1970s from the American National Election Studies survey. Since 1968, the survey has asked respondents where they grew up. This allowed Hillygus and her colleagues to categorize white residents of Southern states as “natives” (people who grew up in the region) and “migrants” (people who grew up elsewhere). It’s important to note that their analysis focuses only on whites, so it cannot speak to the region’s growing diversity.
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for six months. Left happily screeching out of my driveway, Windows all open with rock and roll(Stones) turned up on the radio! So glad to leave that awful place!
... people move to the South is economic. Many move down here and find that they actually like it. People from up yonder way have been retiring here for many many years. Most are nice people, but there are some who come down here with a chip on their shoulder and an attitude. I usually just tell them they found their way down here easily enough, so it shouldn't be that tough to find your way back.
Never bothered me much though. I remember moving from Arkansas to California when I graduated high school. My sister had been there for about 5 years and when she finally introduced me to her "hippie"
boyfriend hilarity ensued. I'd never seen a grown man lose it to that extent over an accent. I asked my sister if he was okay.
except, what's the point of flying back and forth - you know you're going back South again anyway! 
I had a friend who moved down here and he found a little adage in a magazine or somewhere, so he had a wooden plaque made and hung it on his porch. It read:
"I MAY NOT BE FROM THE SOUTH BUT I GOT HERE AS FAST AS I COULD"! 
Some of them get a kick out of us.
.... there ain't a whole lot of people thrilled you're down here either. I'm kidding. No one likes living somewhere where they don't feel at home.
Try becoming an Alabama football fan!
Sitting outside Knoxville, TN where the temperature has risen from low single digits to 20 degrees this morning.
Ooooo, Balmy.
That being said, the reason I'm sitting here is job-related, the considerable push of employment during the 90s into the Sunshine Belt. This was not a desired move but an economic one with two kids at university and tuition rates even in the late 90's and early aughts heading into the stratosphere.
That was then, this is now.
For many, the impetus to move south is again economics-based, particularly for retirees: incredibly low taxes in comparison to say, my native state of New Jersey. For 'fureigners' (rather than migrants) this is somewhat astonishing at the start, until you realize that many schools are not adequately funded and all those public services we take for granted in the North have been privatized: ambulance, fire, trash. On the fire angle, we had a case several years ago--mid-state, rural--where a subscriber had fallen behind on his yearly subscription. His house caught fire. The local fire company stood and watched the building burn. No money, no hosey. Glenn Beck featured the case on his show: this is what freedom looks like. Public transportation? That's pretty much a non-starter where I am. I miss commuter trains and high-speed lines and have never understood the great resistance to the idea in Republican circles. Whatever. Plus, I find the overt religiosity annoying because it's too often in your face. Color me perplexed and suspicious. The truly devout people I've known and know in my life are quiet, reflective about their faith. They know what they believe and hold dear. No need to push those beliefs down another person's throat or wave it around like a victory banner.
Unlike many of our fellow retirees, my husband and I will be moving back north, probably Pennsylvania, somewhere outside Philly. Because though it may cost more, that's where home, family and friends are. Can't put a price on that.
Which means, of course, that our 2 Democratic votes possibly for 2018 and most definitely in 2020 will not be counted in the south but from the region we love best. Personally, I'm ready to click my ruby shoes and head home.
