Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHEAST
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 5A
Midterms show South split along urban, rural lines
CARLOS OSORIO I Associated Press
Democrat Stacey Abrams, who lost her bid for governor, answers her
phone Aug. 3, before speaking at the National Association of Black
Journalists in Detroit.
BY BILL BARROW
Associated Press
ATLANTA — The Solid South is
no more.
A century of rule by “Southern
Democrats” followed by a gen
eration of Republican domination
is evolving into something more
complex.
This month’s midterms revealed
a South that is essentially split
ting in two. In states like Georgia
and Texas, population growth and
strong minority turnout propelled
liberal Democrats such as Stacey
Abrams and Beto O’Rourke to
come close to statewide victories
once thought impossible. Yet the
Old Confederacy states in between
are mostly holding to form, with
white majorities giving President
Donald Trump high marks and con
servatives a clear advantage going
forward.
An Associated Press analysis of
election returns along with data
from AP VoteCast, a national sur
vey of more than 115,000 midterm
voters, found two factors largely
driving election outcomes. Competi
tive races required both a racially
diverse electorate and Democratic
success in building support from
white voters in growing metro
areas.
One or the other wasn’t enough.
For instance, Democratic hopes to
make inroads in Kentucky and Ten
nessee failed because there weren’t
enough minority voters to rely on.
Meanwhile, the GOP maintained
its grip on Alabama and Louisiana,
states that have a significant minor
ity population but where white vot
ers in metro areas often voted in
line with their rural counterparts.
The same scenario could play out
Tuesday in Mississippi’s runoff elec
tion for a Senate seat.
That’s what makes Georgia and
Texas stand out: The two factors
were simultaneously in play to turn
statewide elections competitive
for the first time in a generation.
That didn’t translate into victory
for Abrams or O’Rourke, but the
results could help Democrats navi
gate the upcoming debate over the
type of presidential candidate to
select. It could also help the party
decide where to send financial and
organizational resources. Trump,
meanwhile, may have to pay more
attention to places that have tradi
tionally been loyal to the GOP.
“The story is the rise of the South
ern city centers and the surround
ing areas,” said Republican pollster
Brett Cowden, whose Alabama-
based firm Cygnal has polled and
led campaigns across the region.
“People are moving there from all
over, and they tend to be under 50
and college educated. Those are
problem areas for Republicans.”
Democrats are happy to embrace
those changes, even if they’re not
uniform.
“What we’re talking about here
is parts of the South starting to look
like the rest of the battlegrounds
around the country, where Demo
crats can stitch together a diverse
coalition and win,” said Boyd
Brown, a Democratic consultant
and former state lawmaker from
South Carolina. “But then we still
have such a bad brand with small
town whites,” said Brown, who is
white and comes from a rural part
of the state.
Virginia has already made a
significant transition following
decades of growth in the Washing
ton suburbs that pushed the state
from a GOP advantage to a two-
party toss-up and now to the edge of
becoming firmly Democratic. That
trend could accelerate after Ama
zon picked Arlington, Virginia, as
one of its new headquarters, poten
tially flooding the area with tens of
thousands of new voters.
At the other end of the spectrum
is Mississippi, where the Old South’s
racial politics has been on stark
display ahead of the Senate runoff
between Republican Cindy Hyde-
Smith, who is white, and Demo
cratic former Agriculture Secretary
Mike Espy, who is black.
Falling between Virginia and
Mississippi is perpetual toss-up
Florida; North Carolina, which has
been a presidential battleground
since 2008; and Georgia, which
could debut as a presidential battle
ground in 2020 after Abrams’ got a
surprising 49 percent of the vote in
her bid to become America’s first
black female governor.
“Understand this is no longer a
red state,” Abrams said in an inter
view, insisting the 2020 Democratic
presidential nominee should “con
test Georgia.”
Texas is a wild card, with
O’Rourke coming within 3 percent
age points of Republican Sen. Ted
Cruz in a state Trump won by 9
points in 2016.
AP VoteCast, a nationwide sur
vey of the American electorate con
ducted for The Associated Press by
NORC at the University of Chicago,
demonstrates the dynamic playing
out across the South.
Nationally, whites made up 74
percent of the electorate. Among
small-town and rural whites (30 per
cent of the electorate), 63 percent
backed a Republican House can
didate, compared with 35 percent
for Democrats. Suburban whites
(33 percent of the electorate) split
51 percent for Republicans and
46 percent for Democrats. Urban
whites (11 percent of the electorate)
sided with Democrats, 57 percent to
40 percent.
Whites in Virginia voted much
like whites nationally, but the
composition of the electorate was
modestly different. Small-town
and rural whites solidly supported
Republicans but made up a slightly
smaller share of the Virginia elec
torate compared with the elector
ate nationally. Suburban whites,
meanwhile, were divided in their
votes and were a slightly larger
share.
Georgia saw mixed results, with
metro areas gaining strength, but
whites in Georgia still leaning far
more to Republicans than whites
nationally. Abrams drew enough
nonwhite voters and white liberals
to the polls to outperform Hillary
Clinton’s 2016 presidential vote
totals. But Abrams still fell about
55,000 votes short of Brian Kemp
because of his nearly 3-to-l advan
tage among whites.
VoteCast showed 82 percent of
small-town and rural white Geor
gians backed Republican House
candidates. The Republican advan
tage was 68 percent to 30 percent
among suburban whites. The mar
gin among urban whites was nar
row, 52 percent for Democrats to 46
percent for Republicans. Still, the
long-term trends could be a warn
ing sign for Republicans. Those
rural whites cast 26 percent of bal
lots, and suburban whites cast 30
percent — both figures modestly
lagging the national marks and
likely to shrink as Democrats’ base
in Atlanta grows.
Alabama police say black man’s visible gun ‘heightened’ threat
The Associated Press
HOOVER — Police in Alabama
offered sympathy Monday to the
family of a black man killed by
an officer responding to a shoot
ing at a shopping mall, but said the
man’s visible handgun “heightened
the sense of threat” to police in an
already chaotic scene.
Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., 21,
was shot and killed by a police offi
cer responding to a Thanksgiving
night shooting that wounded two
people at the Riverchase Galleria
mall outside Birmingham.
Hoover police initially portrayed
Bradford as the gunman saying offi
cers acted heroically to “take out
the threat” within seconds of shots
being fired in the crowded mall.
Then they retracted the statement,
saying Bradford was likely not the
gunman responsible for the initial
shooting, who remains at large.
“He saw a black man with a gun
and he made his determination he
must be a criminal,” Ben Crump, a
lawyer for Bradford’s family said
during a Sunday news conference
in Birmingham.
The family’s lawyer said wit
nesses have contacted his law
firm saying Bradford was trying
to “wave people away from the
shooting” and the officer did not
issue any verbal commands to drop
the weapon before shooting the
21-year-old.
Police said the details of
what transpired remain under
investigation.
Police and the city of Hoover on
Monday issued more detailed state
ments on the shooting and the inves
tigation. They said Bradford “had a
gun in his hand as police officers
responded to the active shooter situ
ation between mall patrons. ”
“We can say with certainty Mr.
Bradford brandished a gun dur
ing the seconds following the gun
shots, which instantly heightened
the sense of threat to approaching
police officers responding to the
chaotic scene,” the statement said.
They later clarified the use of the
verb “brandished” saying it meant
Bradford was holding a gun.
“We are deeply and sincerely
sympathetic to Mr. Bradford’s
grieving family and all of those
affected by this incident. We all
want answers and we believe that
with patience and focus, the truth
will be firmly established,” the
statement says.
Bradford’s father said he wants
to see body-camera video from the
shooting.
The Monday police statement
says “body camera video and other
available video has been turned
over to the Alabama Law Enforce
ment Agency (ALEA) which is now
investigating the shooting.
“Release of any video will be
done as ALEA deems appropriate
during the investigation,” the state
ment said.
Awesome Oran
4 favorite varieties
delicious oranges
■ ^ fresh from the Grove
WOW! Handpicked
fresh from the grove!
4 unique varieties. 20 delicious oranges!
Handpicked and hand packed, our fresh, juicy oranges are delivered to your door fresh
off the tree! Twenty plump, delicious oranges in 4 favorite varieties.
• 5 Navel Oranges Juicy, sweet and seedless, they’re everyone’s favorite!
• 5 Petite Red Nave Is Spicy sweet flavor with a bright red flesh.
• 5 Tangerines Rich Honey-Sweet flavor with easy-to-peel skin.
• 5 Petite Navel Oranges Snack-sized sweet treat.
Call 1-844-632-6340 to order item 494X
or Visit HaleGroves.com/N19517
Order Item #494X, mention Code H9VH-E115 for your $18 savings.
Only $19.99* (reg. $3739), plus $5.99 shipping & handling. Satisfaction
completely guaranteed. This gift ships in December at the peak of freshness.
Order by Dec. 17,2018 for GUARANTEED Christmas delivery.
IC: H9VH-E115
Call now and
SAVE 47%!
‘Plus $5.99 handling to the 48 contiguous states. Limited time offer, good while
supplies last. Not valid with any other offer. Limit 5 boxes per customer.
■^ERICA’S ORIGINAL BUTCHfZ
TENDERNESS
and SAVE 75%' on Omaha Steaks
30 GOURMET ITEMS!
The Family
Gourmet Feast
2 (5 oz.) Filet Mignons
2 (5 oz.) Top Sirloins
2 (4 oz.) Boneless Pork Chops
4 Boneless Chicken
Breasts (1 lb. pkg.)
4 (3 oz.) Kielbasa Sausages
4 (4 oz.) Omaha Steaks Burgers
4 (3 oz.) Potatoes au Gratin
4 (4 oz.) Caramel Apple Tartlets
Omaha Steaks Seasoning Packet
55586GXZ I $100.01' separately
Combo Price
Omaha Steaks
BONELESS
CHICKEN
BREASTS
ORDER NOW & SAVE 75%
Plus get
4 more Burgers
FREE
OMAHA STEAKS
BURGERS 4X
1-866-334-1897 ask for 55586GXZ
www.OmahaSteaks.com/excellent45
'Savings shown over aggregated single item base price. Limit 2 55586 pkgs. Your 4 free burgers will be sent
to each shipping address that includes 55586. Standard S&H will be added per address. Flat rate shipping and
reward cards and codes cannot be used with this offer. Not valid with other offers. Expires 2/28/19. All purchases
acknowledge acceptance of Omaha Steaks. Inc. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Visit omahasteaks.com/
terms-of-useOSI and omahasteaks.com/info/privacy-policy or call 1-800-228-9872 for a copy. ©2018 OCG I
Omaha Steaks, Inc. 118M1531
