NC has always been the most progressive former Confederate state. That is still the case today, when a fair number of far Leftists can be found in the WNC and the Triangle areas. This combined with a number of anxious Dixiecrats being turned off by Clinton's focus on social issues gave Sanders his best performance in the former Confederate states.
Tennessee says hello with Estes Kefauver, Gore Sr, Ross Bass, Frank Clement, and the early history of Eastern Tennessee in general.
Not to mention it [NC] voted rightwards of Florida and barely leftwards of Georgia...the latter of which Hillary did pretty much nothing in.
Seems to me the result was that Bernie did diddly-squat in The South around Super Tuesday and by the time NC hit, he upped his game in general once Oklahoma and Kansas went to him and proved he had more chance.
I'd hardly call Eastern Tennessee "progressive" just because it was pro-Union (as if there weren't conservatives supportive of their country's government??) or Republican (a party that had as many "conservative" elements as "progressive" elements at all points in its history).
