and you think they were voting for who, prior to that......
I don't believe social issues were very significant in the political arena prior to that. The Southern conservatives identified with the Democratic party strongly from the Civil War until the late 1960's. but there was not a Republican party prior to that. They left the Democratic party (with regards to national politics) when Johnson used the National Guard to integrate the University of Alabama. They had the Dixiecrats for a while but that was absorbed by the Republican party. Gov. Wallace was a strong social conservative and very long term Democratic Gov. of Alabama.
Yes the Social Conservatives of the south supported the Democrats until Johnson alienated them and Nixon pandered to them.