These two voter turnout trends explain what happened across the South in the election
An NPR analysis finds Democratic wins across six southern states in 2026 were driven by turnout: Harris-won counties neared or beat presidential-level turnout while Trump-won counties saw steeper drops, averaging a 22-point swing, with majority-Black counties at about 85% turnout. After the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling redrew maps, Roy Cooper flipped North Carolina's Senate race by 20 points, and Scott Colom leads Cindy Hyde-Smith by just over 5,600 votes.
