Southern Politics

August 20, 2012 - Planning is underway to make the opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. one to recognize the struggle of workers in the nation's least unionized and poorest paid region.

July 24, 2012 - As Green, Libertarian and other third-party presidential candidates struggle to overcome restrictive ballot access laws, will they have any impact on the outcome of this year's presidential election, as Green Party candidate Ralph Nader was accused of doing in Florida in 2000?

July 20, 2012 - The "Peace Boat" exposes the barriers between affluent white Cuba and its largely non-white and impoverished population -- but also between generations of Cuban Americans.

July 13, 2012 - The Affordable Care Act, called "Obamacare" by its opponents, provides for an expansion of the joint federal-state health care program for the poor. But many Southern governors say they will reject that expansion -- even though it would benefit their states' economies.

July 12, 2012 - The Democratic Party tied its upcoming convention's fortunes to Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, now embroiled in a scandal over an abrupt CEO switch following the company's merger with Progress Energy. What will the controversy mean for the party in the upcoming election?

July 10, 2012 - The recent jobs report showed the economy continues to struggle. Many of the states that have seen the biggest job gains are in the South -- but that likely won't help Obama much in November.

June 28, 2012 - Southern states have among the highest rates of uninsured residents. They also have state officials who are among the most vocal critics of the Supreme Court's decision upholding the Affordable Care Act.