The 1980 election was a turning point for the Republican party and solidified the changes that had been building slowly since the 1950s. The party primarily appealed to white voters, especially white males. Republicans also began to attract religious conservatives, despite Reagan's lack of devotion to Christianity.1 The solidification of the Southern Strategy continued as the Republican Party received the rise and supporters from the Sun Belt area that consisted of an expansion of middle-class suburban families. Because of the shift, the South is now an important voting region for the Republican Party.2 The person most responsible for the shift in the Republican Party to what it is today is Ronald Reagan. He created a firm stance combining social control, economic conservatism, and a solid opinion of national defense that contained racial undertones.3 Republicans remain in control of the presidency throughout the 1980s by reducing taxes and increasing military spending to fortify national security during an escalation of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. George H. W. Bush was the vice president to Reagan and later became president by continuing the positions Reagan laid out during the previous presidency.4
1980 also brought an end to the political dynasty of the Talmadge family in Georgia. Herman Talmadge lost his senate seat to Mick Mattingly, Georgia's first Republican United States Senator since Reconstruction. Talmadge bore some of the backlashes that Carter received while in office as a Democrat.5 Mattingly made crucial relations with white suburban voters, now critical to the Republican party, while Talmadge focused on rural Georgia.6 Talmadge also lost touch with the state, and marital and financial problems did not help his political standing.7
The Republican ascendancy in the South occurred after the 1980 election due to a combination of population growth and increased industrialization and urbanization. The influx of African American voters in urban areas and coalitions with suburban whites helped oust Talmadge.8