(CHAPEL HILL) -- With the 2012 Democratic National Convention coming to Charlotte, North Carolina will become the political focal point in the month leading up to the 2012 elections.  But a retired UNC-Chapel Hill history professor believes the convention being held in Charlotte is an indicator of the south's role in modern national politics.

"It suggests that the south, unlike the years when there was a solid south -- a one party south, has become a national battleground," said professor William Leuchtenburg.

President Barack Obama won North Carolina in 2008 by a close margin.  "If he were to lose North Carolina and the upper south, it would be exceptionally difficult for him to put together an electoral coalition that would carry him to victory," said Leuchtenburg.