BILL BARROW
ATLANTA (AP) - Southerners in both political parties put a firm imprint on national politics by holding the White House for 25 of the past 50 years and producing scores of Capitol Hill giants during the 20th century.
But that kind of power has waned as Democrats and Republicans in the region navigate the consequences of shifts in demographics, migration and party identity.
This year's presidential election is the second consecutive one without a Southerner on either major party ticket.
It's happened in back-to-back elections only once - 1968 and 1972 - since Franklin Roosevelt, a New Yorker, won four consecutive elections with overwhelming support across what was then Democrats' solid South.
It's a new dynamic for a proud region that produced two presidents from Texas and one each Arkansas and Georgia.