Missouri and the Deployment of the Southern Strategy in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract Missouri was once a noteworthy bellwether state that became a Republican stronghold during this century. This paper explores whether the Republicans achieved their success through the deployment of their Southern Strategy associated with the similar replacement of Democratic control in the South. Having considered the principal characteristics of what is an ill-defined and contested concept, the paper finds that the Southern Strategy was not used to obtain political change in Missouri. Absent was any Republican focus on civil rights issues like segregated education, housing or employment. There was no concerted Republican determination to exclude Black people from voting. There were periodic attempts to assert Missouri’s independence from federal government in states’ rights terms, but only with opposition to Obamacare was an effective operation organized. The strategic focus of the Republican’s campaign in Missouri over the early years of the 20th century was populist rather than racist and focused on small government and cultural issues. A key target for the Missouri GOP were Democrats who were “conflicted conservatives,” liberal on economics but conservative on culture, along with suburban residents, Evangelical Christians and married women. The former formed part of Nixon’s chosen constituency and the latter two groups succumbed to Reagan’s appeal. Whilst there was some use of its rhetorical devices, it was only in terms of these key audiences that there was a clear adoption of the Southern Strategy in Missouri.