http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/15/elections-give-gop-a-solid-hold-on-south/?page=1
The South, once solidly Democratic, is more solidly Republican than ever after the 2011 elections.
Elections give GOP a solid hold on South
Switch of key states could trouble Obama
As the last state legislative races were called this week from the Nov. 8 votes in Virginia and Mississippi, the party of Abraham Lincoln now controls both chambers of every state legislature in the 11 former states of the Confederacy, with the sole exception of Arkansas. And Arkansas Republicans need to flip only a handful of seats in 2012 to make the trend unanimous.
None of this comes as welcome news for President Obama’s re-election campaign. In 2008, Mr. Obama was propelled to the White House in large part with breakthrough victories in such states as Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, but all three states now have Republican-led legislatures, with the GOP’s biggest gains in the 2010 elections.
The shift means that in swing states such as Florida, the GOP 2012 nominee will have a home-field advantage given the local balance of power.
The 2010 midterm vote was “a record-breaking year for Republicans in the state legislatures. There were a couple of benchmarks set that made it a banner year, and what the last election showed is that it hasn’t died down,” said Adam Temple, a spokesman for the Republican State Leadership Committee. “It doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Democrats in 2012.”