The Effects of the Southern Strategy and Distrust of the GOP
Faculty Mentor
Two WU mentors: Jennifer Disney, Ph.D.; Brendan Renallo-Benavidez, Ph.D.; disneyj@winthrop.edu; benavidezb@winthrop.edu
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Political Science
Faculty Mentor
Jennifer Disney, Ph.D. and Brandon Ranallo-Benavidez, Ph.D.
Abstract
This paper examines the lingering effects of the infamous “Southern Strategy” by the Republican Party and the negative side effects it has caused since its implementation. Denison Kitchel, advisor to late-Senator Goldwater, was the pioneering campaign manager who showed the political benefit for the GOP of fear mongering and racially charged politics in the South. Over the years, top presidential campaign officials including Lee Atwater, Roger Stone, and John Mitchell have deployed this strategy to varying degrees of success. Used to frame racial/ethnic minorities for crime, the Southern Strategy has severely damaged the socio-political climate of the South. Since the formal ending of Jim Crow, the Southern GOP has struggled to recruit candidates of color in the South, with a few notable exceptions. A lack of descriptive diversity among Republican candidates will have a detrimental impact to the party’s voter base in the coming decades as the United States’ population continues to shift towards a majority of the population coming from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. For the sake of the GOP’s continued viability, changes must be made. This paper examines how distrust and fear of the GOP has been a major contributing factor to the decreasing racial and ethnic diversity of Republican voters in the South. I argue that re-imagined messaging and strategy, away from racialized fear mongering and towards egalitarian opportunities, is the way Republican strategists should capitalize on the shifting voter base of the South.
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Course Assignment
PLSC 490 - Disney & Benavidez
Type of Presentation
I am willing to give either an oral or poster presentation
The Effects of the Southern Strategy and Distrust of the GOP
This paper examines the lingering effects of the infamous “Southern Strategy” by the Republican Party and the negative side effects it has caused since its implementation. Denison Kitchel, advisor to late-Senator Goldwater, was the pioneering campaign manager who showed the political benefit for the GOP of fear mongering and racially charged politics in the South. Over the years, top presidential campaign officials including Lee Atwater, Roger Stone, and John Mitchell have deployed this strategy to varying degrees of success. Used to frame racial/ethnic minorities for crime, the Southern Strategy has severely damaged the socio-political climate of the South. Since the formal ending of Jim Crow, the Southern GOP has struggled to recruit candidates of color in the South, with a few notable exceptions. A lack of descriptive diversity among Republican candidates will have a detrimental impact to the party’s voter base in the coming decades as the United States’ population continues to shift towards a majority of the population coming from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. For the sake of the GOP’s continued viability, changes must be made. This paper examines how distrust and fear of the GOP has been a major contributing factor to the decreasing racial and ethnic diversity of Republican voters in the South. I argue that re-imagined messaging and strategy, away from racialized fear mongering and towards egalitarian opportunities, is the way Republican strategists should capitalize on the shifting voter base of the South.
