Reply #43: I think you're right about the Carolinas [View All]

but I don't think that means he wouldn't be a strong candidate overall, or that he wouldn't be stronger in the south than the other candidates. South Carolina is a solid Repug state, and the fact that it's his birth state doesn't mean much. * didn't carry his birth state of Connecticut, and it's not as strongly Dem as SC is strongly Repug. As for NC, it's a pretty solid Repug state as well, though not as much as SC. If a candidate could do well nationwide (and I've seen polls that show Edwards doing the best in head-to-head match-ups against the R's) I'm not sure how much the home state thing is an issue. Obviously it is very desirable to have a candidate who is definitely going to take their home state, but I don't think it should be a disqualifier or anything. America has become more and more polarized, and some states, minus extraordinary circumstances, are just not going to vote for candidates of certain parties on the presidential level. Think of some of the states that have governors of the minority party in that state. Despite the governor's popularity, there is little likelihood of the state going for that person if they ran for president simply due to their party. This is true of both "red" and "blue" states.