The South and Party Switching:

[smoltchanov]

I would add that until 1990th, and in some cases (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, to lesser extent - Alabama)  - well into 2000th, there was a considerable number of really conservative (not what's really takes place  today when one uses term "conservaDem" - these are centrist or even moderate liberals) Democratic legislators in Southern legislatures. They really had almost nothing in common with Nancy Pelosi, and even less - with Barack Obama. Look at such present day Mississippi legislators as  Browning, Mettetal, Bounds, Shows, Smith, White, at Dial or Holley in Alabama, Ward and Fannin in Louisiana, Collins-Smith in Arkansas, and their like. No one could classify them even as "moderates" even when they were Democrats, though, by fact,  they all were first elected as Democrats. Now they can have their cake and eat it too: they are influential as members of majority caucus (which became a majority partially because of their switching too), they must not "betray" their conservative principles even on party-line voting. and so on. Even state parties (don't even speak about national one here) in their states became much more liberal (and, frequently, Black-dominated). There is at least some truth when they say "the party left me...". Both national and their state parties...

[smoltchanov]

I would add that until 1990th, and in some cases (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, to lesser extent - Alabama)  - well into 2000th, there was a considerable number of really conservative (not what's really takes place  today when one uses term "conservaDem" - these are centrist or even moderate liberals) Democratic legislators in Southern legislatures. They really had almost nothing in common with Nancy Pelosi, and even less - with Barack Obama. Look at such present day Mississippi legislators as  Browning, Mettetal, Bounds, Shows, Smith, White, at Dial or Holley in Alabama, Ward and Fannin in Louisiana, Collins-Smith in Arkansas, and their like. No one could classify them even as "moderates" even when they were Democrats, though, by fact,  they all were first elected as Democrats. Now they can have their cake and eat it too: they are influential as members of majority caucus (which became a majority partially because of their switching too), they must not "betray" their conservative principles even on party-line voting. and so on. Even state parties (don't even speak about national one here) in their states became much more liberal (and, frequently, Black-dominated). There is at least some truth when they say "the party left me...". Both national and their state parties...

There's one in Kentucky who I can think of: State Rep. Tom Kerr of Taylor Mill. He is a Republican now, but was originally elected as a Democrat. Even when he was a Democrat, he was so conservative that he wouldn't endorse conservative Democrats like Ken Lucas, and endorsed Gex Williams instead.

I remember him too. But there are relatively few such people in Upper South compared with Deep South..

[smoltchanov]

I would add that until 1990th, and in some cases (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, to lesser extent - Alabama)  - well into 2000th, there was a considerable number of really conservative (not what's really takes place  today when one uses term "conservaDem" - these are centrist or even moderate liberals) Democratic legislators in Southern legislatures. They really had almost nothing in common with Nancy Pelosi, and even less - with Barack Obama. Look at such present day Mississippi legislators as  Browning, Mettetal, Bounds, Shows, Smith, White, at Dial or Holley in Alabama, Ward and Fannin in Louisiana, Collins-Smith in Arkansas, and their like. No one could classify them even as "moderates" even when they were Democrats, though, by fact,  they all were first elected as Democrats. Now they can have their cake and eat it too: they are influential as members of majority caucus (which became a majority partially because of their switching too), they must not "betray" their conservative principles even on party-line voting. and so on. Even state parties (don't even speak about national one here) in their states became much more liberal (and, frequently, Black-dominated). There is at least some truth when they say "the party left me...". Both national and their state parties...

Yeah Collins-Smith thought the Arkansas State Democrat Party was getting to much like the national one.  Her parents were maybe are still Democrats as well I believe. There hasn't been a lot of party switching in Arkansas either as opposed to other Deep South States either.

Not much. But Holcomb recently switched too. Republican party was too weak in Arkansas even 10 years ago, and that limited legislators interest in switching. But now it's a majority... On the other side - most of Arkansas Democratic conservatives were still more of "pragmatic conservative", not "diehard far-right" type, and, thus, "too liberal" for Republican party. With rather strict term limits in effect they simply retired in 2000th... Though i can't rule out couple of more switches..