Democrats’ wins in the South helped to shift the political map; will it last?

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The midterm elections reshaped the political map and raised questions about whether some Southern states will remain “purple” in the long term.

President Donald Trump carried Louisiana each time he ran for the White House.

And even though he endorsed Republican Rep. Julia Letlow in Louisiana’s U.S. Senate race, Letlow narrowly defeated Democrat Jamie Davis, a farmer.

“God bless the United States of America, thank you all appreciate it,” said Letlow on election night.

Still, the race’s closeness reverberated beyond Louisiana.

“Louisiana, Mississippi, which were the battlegrounds this election cycle, were not the battlegrounds nationally,” said FOX 8 political analyst Mike Sherman.

Some of Louisiana’s Southern neighbors went blue in the midterm elections.

“This is a reflection on where the electorate was in this strong rebuke they gave to the President and the Republican Party,” Sherman said.

In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, giving Democrats their first U.S. Senate victory in the state in nearly 40 years.

“What we’re seeing in Texas, though, this wasn’t just Texas going blue for one office. It was for every statewide office. It just speaks to the intensity of the feelings in the electorate right now,” Sherman said.

In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated a Republican opponent to become the first Black woman elected governor in the U.S.

“We’re not a battleground. Georgia is,” Sherman stated.

In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham.

“Lindsey Graham famously warned that if Republicans went down this path, they might have a cataclysmic event,” Sherman said. “Well, Lindsey Graham’s not with us, but that cataclysmic event happened. There’s going to have to be soul searching within the Republican Party to find a direction that earns the support of a large base of voters.

In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom, once viewed as a long-shot candidate, turned his race against Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith into a nail-biter.

“Donald Trump famously said the loyalty among his voters was so intense, he could shoot someone in broad daylight. Well, now we’ve found there was a limit to that. Unpopular wars, affordability, these really cumulated into a rebuke of the president and his policies,” said Sherman.

Democrats won control of both the House and Senate.

“I don’t think we’re at the beginning of a political realignment. I think we’re at a moment in time where the electorate is rebuking Trump and Trumpism. And we saw that across the country in key races, places like Mississippi,” Sherman said.

Still, the midterm elections sent a message to both major parties.

“I’ll bet there’s a lot of Democrats kicking themselves for not investing in Louisiana. Jamie Davis had to do this election on his own and came incredibly close. I think what this election shows is the entire country can be up for grabs when the intensity of feelings of the electorate is this strong.”

Some political strategists say it is unclear whether Democrats will be able to compete successfully in the 2028 presidential election.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel.