When an election happens where political parties switch directions it's called "realignment election". The last Realignment Election was in 1964. Lyndon Johnson (and by extension, JFK), called for end to segregation. One of his biggest battle was passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Southern politicians were vocally opposed to it and the Democrat party lost support in the South as Republican conservatives such as Barry Goldwater became vocal opponent of not only the Civil Rights Act but also Johnson's War on Poverty. Johnson told Kennedy aide Ted Sorensen that "I know the risks are great and we might lose the South, but those sorts of states may be lost anyway."