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Once a Bluish State, now a Reddish One Discussion

'Once a Bluish State, now a Reddish one' by Michael Nelson is a political analysis discussion on the transition of a state from being politically in line with the Democratic Party(blue) to joining the Republican Party (red). The discussion looks at the history of Tennessee politics and seeks to discover that even though Tennessee has never been fully red or blue, it has changed from being a bluish state to a reddish one over time. There are certain factors that the Tennessee geography has helped people understand, such as why the state was not founded as Democratic or Republican, considering that it has been either of them at a point. One of the features is the location of the state, whereby it is found on the northern edge of the South. In contrast, the second feature is the length of the state, which comes with various varieties recognizing the three grand divisions (Nelson, 2006).

The state was not a Democratic one in the past. However, the election of Republican governors made them support those in the Republic, even nominating a Republican to run for the presidency, making it the most Republican state. There were significant changes in the Tennessee politics after World War II. After Crump's death and his regime, several people from Tennessee came out as nationally influential political leaders, making the state go Republican for two consecutive presidential elections. The National Democratic Party's interest in Kefauver, Gore, and Clement made them respond in ways that were different from most other Southern political leaders. The Democrats, for a long time, had not been challenged in the past; hence, the individuals remained in a bluish state, but the Republicans started making and painting their brushes red. Richard Nixon won the presidential elections, having been a Republican, proving that the chances for them to succeed in Tennessee did not depend on having other influential people who were Democrats (Nelson, 2006). The various factors that came through as time

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passed and having different leaders from different parties made the State of Tennesseee, once a Bluish State, a Reddish one.

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References

Nelson, M. (2006). Tennessee: Once a Bluish State, Now a Reddish One. Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 65(2), 162–183. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42627949