Would Mississippi have gone to Obama?

[Barnes]

McCain won Mississippi by 13 points (56-43). This is an improvement from 2004, where Bush defeated Kerry by 20 points. Anyway, what should Obama have done to at least make Mississippi competitive?

[Sam Spade]

Possibilities...

1) Kill enough of the white population so that blacks would outnumber whites.
2) Change color.
3) Change party and color.

[Barnes]

Possibilities...

1) Kill enough of the white population so that blacks would outnumber whites.
2) Change color.
3) Change party and color.

I'm not under the dilussion that MS would have gone to Obama, but, I beleive he could have made it, somewhat, competitive.

[Mjh]

No. Mississippi don't vote for liberals.

[Bo]

Obama would have needed to become white and conservative in order to win the state.

[Joe Republic]

First, look at this:




Then, look at the fact that non-blacks constitute 63% of Mississippi's population.

Therefore, Obama never stood a chance of winning the state.

[HAnnA MArin County]

It wouldn't have gone to Obama. He did make it closer than 2004 due to the high turnout of African Americans, but unfortunately, racial polarization exists in the South where I think exit polls showed that whites went for McCain like 9-to-1 and blacks went almost nearly entirely for Obama. In order to have won or made Mississippi a little closer, I think Obama would have had to have been more moderate or even conservative. The Republicans did a good job of painting him as this big-city liberal elitist who "pals around with terrorists" and as a closet Muslim, which, in the poorest and most uneducated state in the nation, I guess those kinds of fear smears play well. Even Bill Clinton of neighboring Arkansas couldn't carry Mississippi, and he was much more moderate (and whiter), so until the rednecks in Mississippi start voting for the party of killing babies and promoting the homosexual agenda, the Republicans will always win the Magnolia State.

Cue the banjos.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

maybe if he had been pro-life and a war hero.

[Derek]

Mississippi will go Democrat when New York goes GOP.

[Derek]

Yea I don't see the point of either considering it. Mississippi is right behind Alabama for the most conservative state. 

[DariusNJ]

No chance.

[James Rivington]

maybe if he had been pro-life and a war hero.

Oh please, you know full well Mississippians don't look that deep when looking for candidates to vote for.

[Hash]

Mississippi is like the most racist/racially polarized state or something. Mississippi whites ain't voting for a black.

[21st Century Independent]

No shot. Unless he would have been pro life, and pro gun.

[Hash]

No shot. Unless he would have been pro life, and pro gun.

and white.

[Derek]

Oh come on that's one of the last states that would go for the democrats.

[Bo]

Oh come on that's one of the last states that would go for the democrats.

It went for Carter in 1976 and would have likely went to him again in 1980 had it not been for the hostage crisis and poor economy.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Oh come on that's one of the last states that would go for the democrats.

It went for Carter in 1976 and would have likely went to him again in 1980 had it not been for the hostage crisis and poor economy.

That was over 30 years ago.

California went to Bush only 20 years ago; why didn't it go for McCain?

[ScottM]

There was absolutely nothing Obama could have done to be competitive here. Mississippians as a whole aren't going to vote for a candidate they know to be a liberal. Obama stands for absolutely nothing that the average Mississippian believes in.

Even though this used to be a one-party (Democrat) State on the state and local level, that has changed. The House is still controlled by Democrats, but in the Senate, even though there is a very slim Democrat majority, the Republicans have a working majority on most issues. On the state level, 7 of the 8 statewide elected offices are held by Republicans.

As for mentioning Carter, I'll echo the fact that it was over 30 years ago. Today, if you had a Jimmy Carter clone run for President, he would have no shot in Mississippi.

So, again, Obama had no chance of being competitive here. I'll even go so far as to say that I'll be surprised if he managed to win even 43% again.

[memphis]

Oh come on that's one of the last states that would go for the democrats.

^^^^^^^^

[pragmatic liberal]

The Obama campaign actually did invest some cash in Mississippi early on -- there was some thought early in the summer of '08 that if they could just get the white vote for Obama up a little past 20% then that could have carried the state.

They wound up abandoning the effort after a few weeks when the polls didn't budge.

[Derek]

Yes you have to go back over 30 years to find a democrat who won there. Since then no one has even been competitive. In 1976, Carter wasn't a democrat as known today either. He was a southern democrat and the customary thing to do at that point in time was to support your fellow southerner. If it were 1976 I would be voting for Carter today as conservative as I am. Also, he barely won Mississippi. Now you have to go back to 1956 to find a democrat who won that state and that was a segregationist. Being a segregationist is hardly in the democrat platform today.

[Inoljt]

The Obama campaign actually did invest some cash in Mississippi early on -- there was some thought early in the summer of '08 that if they could just get the white vote for Obama up a little past 20% then that could have carried the state.

They wound up abandoning the effort after a few weeks when the polls didn't budge.

This sounds quite interesting; I've never heard about this until now.

Source?

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

I recall Obama himself, delusional idiot that he is, claiming at some point that "if blacks just voted their numbers, we'd turn states like Mississippi blue" or something like that.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

McCain won Mississippi by 13 points (56-43). This is an improvement from 2004, where Bush defeated Kerry by 20 points. Anyway, what should Obama have done to at least make Mississippi competitive?

Win 60% of the vote nationally.