2000 was a historic election for many reasons, but one of the most significant is it laid the groundwork for the political coalitions seen today. Indeed, while Bill Clinton (D) had a strong showing in historically Democratic, white rural areas in 1996, his vice president, Al Gore, failed to replicate his success. As such, many areas of the country, from Appalachia to the Mountain West, from Texas to West Virginia, saw massive rightward swings as the political coalitions of the early 21st century began to take shape. However, in a few parts of the South, Gore was able to narrowly hold onto ancestrally Democratic voters that had been shifting towards Republicans since the 1980s. One such place* was Lafayette County in southern Arkansas, which had strongly supported Democrats in the 20th century, only voting Republican in the landslides of 1972 and 1984. Gore managed to continue that trend, but with far less support than Clinton, winning by only 7% compared to Clinton's almost 40% victory in '96. However, Gore would prove to be the last gasp of Democratic strength in the South and Lafayette County. As of the 2024 election, this is the last time Lafayette County voted for the Democratic presidential candidate and likely will be for some time.

In 1996, Bill Clinton handily won his home state of Arkansas when he won re-election to a second term. 20 years later, it would be his wife, Hillary Clinton, seeking the presidency. This time, however, Arkansas voted against Clinton in a landslide. Clinton's opponent, Donald Trump (R), won the state by slightly under 27%, the best performance for a Republican since Richard Nixon's landslide victory in 1972. Additionally, Trump's victory was a 3.21% improvement on Mitt Romney's victory four years prior, continuing the state's ongoing shift rightward since 2000. Such a streak has yet to be broken, with Trump improving on his margin four years later even as he lost re-election overall, and again as he won a second term in 2024.