In this photo combination, President Barack Obama, left, reaches out to shake hands after speaking at a campaign event at Capital University on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio and Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, shakes hands with supporters after finishing his speech during a rally at Guerdon Enterprises in Boise, Idaho Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. (AP Photo)
But that kind of power has waned as Democrats and Republicans in the region navigate the consequences of shifts in demographics, migration and party identity.
This year's presidential election is the second consecutive one without a Southerner on either major party ticket.
It's happened in back-to-back elections only once — 1968 and 1972 — since Franklin Roosevelt, a New Yorker, won four consecutive elections with overwhelming support across what was then Democrats' solid South.
It's a new dynamic for a proud region that produced two presidents from Texas and one each Arkansas and Georgia.
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