Until 1944, the number of Republican voters in the Deep South was very low, but not zero.
Examples
Teddy 1904
National: 56.42%
Louisiana: 9.66%
Mississippi: 5.59%
Alabama: 20.65%
Georgia: 18.33%
South Carolina: 4.63%
Harding 1920:
National: 60.35%
Louisiana: 30.49%
Mississippi: 14.03%
Alabama: 37.11%
Georgia: 27.63%
South Carolina: 3.91%
Landon 1936
National: 36.54%
Louisiana: 11.16%
Mississippi: 2.75%
Alabama: 12.82%
Georgia: 12.60%
South Carolina: 1.43%
Dewey 1944
National: 45.89%
Louisiana: 19.39%
Mississippi: 6.44%
Alabama: 18.20%
Georgia: 18.25%
South Carolina: 4.46%
Were these voters richer or poorer than the average? Were they more urban or more rural? Were they more liberal or more conservative?
What is especially fascinating to me is that between 1868 and 1964, only two Republicans won even 40% of the vote in Georgia: Grant in 1872 and Hoover in 1928. From 1904 through 1940, Democrats always received at least 90% of the vote in South Carolina, and during that same period, always received at least 80% of the vote in Mississippi.
1872: high % of blacks voted due to Reconstruction.
1928: Al Smith's catholicism hurt him in the South. The county map of FL for instance is interesting, as Hoover massively outperformed Coolidge in the state despite doing worse nationwide.
