Why is Mississippi so red when it's so black?

Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree made history when he won the Democratic Party's nomination for governor of Mississippi on Tuesday. This makes DuPree the first African-American in modern times to receive a major party nomination for the position in the Magnolia State. The state has not elected a black politician to statewide office since Reconstruction. The candidate goes up against Republican lieutenant governor Phil Bryant , independent Will Oatis and possibly a Reform Party candidate in the November general election. DuPree's candidacy represents a paradox in a state with a troubled racial past, and whose state flag bears the Confederate insignia. "I'm here to talk to you about color — green," DuPree said in a campaign ad. Although the three-term mayor ran a race-neutral campaign — focusing on issues such as increasing teacher pay, early childhood education, safer streets and creating a business-friendly environment that will spur economic development — it is worth noting that Mississippi has the highest percentage of blacks of any state in the Union. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Mississippi is 37 percent black , while non-Hispanic whites are 58 percent of the population. The state boasts the largest number of black elected officials. And this blackest state is also the poorest , ranking first in the number of people living below the poverty line , based on census data. Mississippi also places dead last in median household income , fourth in per capita federal aid , and first in the percentage of its Medicaid program that is funded by federal matching funds — in this case 76 percent . In addition, the state trails the rest of the nation in quality of health care, according to the Commonwealth Fund and America's Health Rankings . Further, Mississippi is the leader in teen pregnancies and gun deaths in the U.S. Mississippi also suffers from 10.3 percent unemployment and the worst rates of mortgage delinquency in the 50 states. Oddly, the blackest, poorest and most federally-dependent state in America is also the most conservative state, according to a Gallup poll taken earlier this year. With a 50.5 percent conservative self-identification rate, Mississippi is the first state to surpass the 50 percent barrier in the three years the poll has been in existence. Southern and Western states tend to be more conservative, and the former tend to be poorer. Racial districting , brought on by the Voting Rights Act, has guaranteed minority representation in the form of majority-black districts in Mississippi and elsewhere in the South. However, the unintended result has been racial polarization, with increasingly white conservative districts surrounding these black districts, and the marginalization of white moderate candidates in either party. The reality in Mississippi poses a major obstacle for any Democratic and black candidate running statewide in this reddest of red states. In the 2008 presidential election , John McCain won Mississippi with 56.5 percent of the vote, to Obama's 42.7 percent. In a poll taken this year by Public Policy Polling , 46 percent of Mississippi Republican voters believe that interracial marriage should be banned, while only 40 percent believe it should be legal. The remaining 14 percent were undecided. Interracial marriage was legalized in the state 45 years ago. (more…)

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