Alabama is about as solidly in the Republican column as it gets.
In fact, in 2008 John McCain carried Alabama with 60.4% of the vote to Obama's 38.8%.
John Kerry could do no better than 37% in 2004 and Al Gore drew only 42% in 2000.
So what's up with the latest poll in Alabama?
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney leads Democratic President Barack Obama in the race for Alabama's nine electoral votes, according to poll results released Friday. Asked for whom they would vote for president now, 51.3 percent of the surveyed Alabama voters said Romney, 36.4 percent said Obama and 12.3 percent said they didn't know or didn't reply. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.2 percent.
Romney draws barely a majority of the state's vote? Just 51.3%? Seriously?
Granted, Romney's lead is 15 percentage points and he is certainly in no danger of losing Alabama. But given how much the right wing foams at the mouth over the mere mention of the president's name, why isn't Romney leading by much more?
Polling center director Gerald Johnson said he had expected Romney to fare better than he did in the poll. ''I thought he would be stronger than he is," Johnson said.
No kidding.
It's obvious that not every white Southern voter has warmed up to Romney. One possible explanation is that the Mormon factor remains a factor, despite the attempts of the mainstream media to say it isn't.
It may very well be that come November those reluctant white voters will hold their noses and vote for a Mormon. Or they might just sit this one out.
That won't make a difference in Alabama, but it could very well make a difference in places like North Carolina, Florida and Missouri.