East Tennessee?

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

So... with this region's historical opposition to the pre and post-Civil War Democratic establishment, much having to do with distrust of said establishment; to it's flirtation with progressive politics in the early 1900s... could someone explain to me why East Tennessee remains to this day by far the most Republican part of the state?  It would seem by this point most Southern regions have fallen into ideological line with the current state of the major national parties.  East Tennessee... not so much.  Is it just an anomaly or is there something unique about this region that would lead it to continue its loyalty to the GOP?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Areas that were progressive in the early 1900 aren't necessarily progressive nowadays. See the whole rural west, which was a stronghold for Bryan, Theodore Roosevel and LaFollet.

[Ebowed]

Though initially motivated by the inadequate distribution of resources rather than theocratic concerns, these areas have always subscribed to a type of nationalism that is best represented by the Republican Party.  Absent a minority population to suppress, their consistency in voting patterns - along with pockets of Kentucky, West Virginia, and North Carolina - is best explained by a shift in perceived emphasis of issues in presidential elections.

[memphis]

Go to census.gov and check out the racial breakdowns of the counties out there.