Spock the Baptist's Journal: The Southern States, & the history of Presidential Elections

{This Journal Article is incomplete.}
{ I'm in the process of writing it.}

Southern States:
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Border States:
Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.

(Note: Often Delaware, and Maryland are listed as Border States, for the purpose of my thesis I am excluding these two states as Border States. I do this as Delaware never considered secession, and Maryland rejected secession on April 27, 1861. Thus, these two states have never been considered culturally to be Southern. In general these two states are best categorized as Mid-Atlantic States culturally, and politically.)

*No Democratic Candidate has ever won a general election without carrying at least four Southern States.

*No Presidential Candidate since 1924 has won a general election without carrying at least four Southern States.

*No Presidential Candidate since 1900 has won a general election without carrying at least two Border States.

*No Presidential Candidate since 1888 has won a general election without carrying at least one Border State.

If the historical facts above are any indicator, it will be extremely difficult if not impossible for a Democratic Candidate to win in 2008 without carrying at least four Southern States.

Thus, the overriding question for the Democratic Party for the 2008 Presidential Election will be what candidate can they field who can win in the South.

In the Presidential Elections after WWII, JFK was the only none Southern, or Border-State Democrat to be elected President, and he is a special case. JFK would have not been able to win without LBJ as his running mate. Without LBJ, JFK would not have carried Texas, nor is it likely that he would have be able to carry North Carolina, nor Missouri. In this case Nixon would have won in 1960. The choice of LBJ to be JFK's running-mate is without question the most brilliant example of ticket balancing in history.

After the Amercian Civil War only three Democratic nominees who were elected President were not from the South, or a Border State. Grover Cleveland, FDR, & JFK.

1948: Truman (Missouri) vs. Dewey (New York [Born in Michigan])
1952: Eisenhower (Kanas [Born in Texas]) vs. Steveson (Illinois [Born in California])
1956: Eisenhower (Kanas [Born in Texas]) vs. Steveson (Illinois [Born in California])
1960: Kennedy (Massachusetts) vs. Nixon (California)
1964: Johnson (Texas) vs. Goldwater (Arizona)
1968: Nixon (California) vs. Humphery (Minnesota [Born in South Dakota])
1972: Nixon (California) vs. McGovern (South Dakota)
1976: Carter (Georgia) vs. Ford (Michigan [Born in Nebraska])
1980: Reagan (California [Born in Illinois]) vs. Carter (Georgia)
1984: Reagan (California [Born in Illinois]) vs. Mondale (Minnesota)
1988: Bush(Elder) (Texas[Born in Massachusetts]) vs. Dukakis