Changes

Although Southern whites began voting Republican in presidential elections in the 1960s, they considered themselves Democrats and voted for state and local Democrats for many more years. The table shows that SBC pastors were only 27% Republican in the 1970s; they then moved into the GOP, followed by their parishioners a few years later. By 2004 all elements of the SBC were heavily Republican in orientation. The GOP identification slipped a little in 2008, but about 80% of the Southern Baptists voted for McCain over Barack Obama.

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<TR> <TD>percent Republican </TD>

<TR> <TD></TD> <TD>