How far the South sits from the rest of the country, by domain
Standardized weighted gap (South minus non-South) over time, in Cohen-d units. Zero = no regional difference. Grouped by what happened.
Realigned (gap flipped sign)Converged (gap shrank)Persisted or deepened
Party and the presidential vote realigned — the South was the most Democratic region and became the most Republican, the gap passing through zero. Gender roles and welfare attitudes converged toward the national mean. But church attendance, ideology, and views on homosexuality deepened: the South is more religiously and culturally distinct now than two generations ago. Source: ANES + GSS, weighted, standardized.
The vote crossed over — it did not converge
Democratic share of the major-party presidential vote, South vs. non-South (ANES, weighted).
The Solid South sat 11 points more Democratic than the rest of the country in 1952; by 2024 it sat 6 points less. The lines cross — the signature of realignment, not convergence. (ANES self-reported vote inflates levels for both regions; the regional gap is the reliable quantity.) Source: ANES, weighted.