Now, during a national reckoning on racism, Democratic Party leaders want those symbolic changes to become part of a fundamental shift at the ballot box. North Carolina, Georgia, Texas these are becoming real two-party states, said Republican pollster Brent Buchanan, whose firm, Cygnal, aides GOP campaigns across the country. Senate contests in South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi could be much closer than typical statewide races in those Deep South states. Obama won North Carolina and Virginia in 2008, leaning more heavily on diverse cities and battleground suburbs. In South Carolina, Harrison sees progress, even as more tangible policy fights remain.