From Red to Purple: Painting the South with shades of blue

Having lived the majority of my American life in the South, I am particularly tuned in to the political trends of my Texan hometown even after moving to New York. So naturally, it caught me by surprise to see the rise in protests during the summer in which multiple local suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area joined the Black Lives Matter movement and protested police brutality, along with the likes of perennial blue states like California and New York. Current president Donald Trump won Texas in 2016 by a 9% margin. That isn’t a surprise to many, as Texas is a confidently red state. These are the people that seceded from the “United” States of America on the grounds of independence and self-determination (although that didn’t last very long). It would make complete sense for a state that idealizes individuality to agree with Trump’s individualistic ideology – that America (i.e. just the United States) comes first and foremost in the international pecking order.

So why is it that 42 cities across this red state joined the blue cause of racial justice? And it wasn’t just Texas. Major red states like Alabama, Oklahoma and Tennessee are among other southern states that held protests following the murder of George Floyd. Even former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney renounced partisanship to join the recent civil rights movement. But it didn’t just stop there. There has been a growing resentment in the South in the past few years (and especially in the last few months) regarding how the national government has been treating the nation. Comparing voting charts in the last four years, more and more conservative states across the U.S. are veering purple. Whether it be the constant attack on government-funded health programs, the insistent marginalization of various minority groups or the fact that he took our money and still hasn’t built that wall, President Trump is looking at a largely dissatisfied voting populace in this coming election. 

The increase in blue can definitely be attributed to multiple factors. The major player in the upcoming election is young voters. A lot of disgruntled kids who weren’t able to vote in 2016 are now eligible and registered to vote (yours truly included). The 2018 midterm election actually saw a hundred-year high in youth voters, which points to a similar spike in November. Social media platforms – particularly Twitter and Facebook – have become increasingly volatile political battlefields in which the only stalemate being reached at the moment is that everyone needs to vote. Millennials and Gen-Z kids are no longer staying apolitical and are expected to change the course of America’s voter turnout trends.

Another key factor contributing to the growing dissent is the current administration’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. While the first few months were just a daze of panic and confusion, the majority of the country today is just fed up. It was easy to believe the lies and half-truths when the whole world was aflame. Now? The rest of the world seems to be taking steps back to normalcy, while our nation seems to only be getting worse. Many Republicans and 2016 Trump voters have criticized the president and his administration for their failure to facilitate proper procedures to mitigate the virus’ spread. Sure, there are plenty of anti-maskers and conspiracy theorists among us. But they are just a vocal minority, as evidenced by the like-to-retweet ratios on Twitter, with many bashing those who are displaying a disregard for CDC guidelines.

While the Biden-Harris train isn’t enticing to many Democratic, Republican or independent voters, it seems to be the only train that will get us out of this mess. At least, that is the sentiment that seems to be painting red states purple this election season. Although only time will tell about the voting trends of the South, Trump’s guaranteed red votes may just be in jeopardy.