Southern Strategy for the Nomination

"The emergence of a new powerhouse primary bloc in the South has already begun to change the

calculus for taking the White House, evident by an unusual sight: a phalanx of potential presidents already marching through Georgia. The appearance of Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and Ted Cruz at the Georgia GOP Convention in Athens, Ga., on Friday, was indeed a rare treat. While candidates manage to pull an estimated $33 million of donations per campaign year out of Georgia, they rarely spend much time or money in the state, since the race usually shakes out by the time Georgians vote.Most immediately, the move will help candidates like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a favorite of evangelicals, who called the new conference a “godsend.” The thought is that an early Southern primary bloc in states where it’s cheaper to advertise could reinvigorate more conservative campaigns that may flag in Iowa and New Hampshire, meaning that, as Politico’s James Hohmann writes, “the test in the South will likely pit the winners of the first states against one another.”" yahoo