Reagan made a lot of White Americans feel "hopeful" and "comfortable" again after the Civil Rights Era and the turmoil of the 1970s (Watergate, Oil Crisis, stagflation).I was looking at the 1980 election the other day. Reagan narrowly won a lot of those southern states. Carter was beloved in the South but couldn’t get the extra couple thousand votes here and there as Reagan was underestimated.
My dad was saying he remembered coming to America in 1978 when Carter was president. Then the big change with Reagan bringing the glitz and rich people to Washington, DC in the 80s.