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GOP Plants Flag on New Voting Frontier
Los Angeles Times ^ | November 22, 2004 | Ronald Brownstein and Richard Rainey, Times Staff Writers

Posted on 11/22/2004 9:23:16 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Bush's huge victory in the fast-growing areas beyond the suburbs alters the political map.

WASHINGTON — The center of the Republican presidential coalition is moving toward the distant edges of suburbia.

In this month's election, President Bush carried 97 of the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties, most of them "exurban" communities that are rapidly transforming farmland into subdivisions and shopping malls on the periphery of major metropolitan areas.
Together, these fast-growing communities provided Bush a punishing 1.72 million vote advantage over Democrat John F. Kerry, according to a Times analysis of election results. That was almost half the president's total margin of victory.

"These exurban counties are the new Republican areas, and they will become increasingly important to Republican candidates," said Terry Nelson, the political director for Bush's reelection campaign. "This is where a lot of our vote is."

These growing areas, filled largely with younger families fleeing urban centers in search of affordable homes, are providing the GOP a foothold in blue Democratic-leaning states and solidifying the party's control over red Republican-leaning states.

They also represent a compounding asset whose value for the Republican Party has increased with each election: Bush's edge in these 100 counties was almost four times greater than the advantage they provided Bob Dole, the Republican presidential nominee eight years ago.

In states like Ohio, Minnesota and Virginia, Republican strength in these outer suburbs is offsetting Democratic gains over the last decade in more established — and often more affluent — inner-tier suburbs. As Democrats analyze a demoralizing defeat in this month's presidential election, one key question they face is whether they can reduce the expanding Republican advantage on the new frontier between suburbs and countryside.

"When any party is losing a growing group of voters, that's a problem —

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004election; brownstein; bushcountry; bushvictory; exurbs
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To: tubebender

Both Wine Counties are in the same situation.

The rats don't even admit to being rats when they run for the city council. That has been part of their taking control plan for the past two decades.

Part of the problem are the left wing colleges and universities which attract and hold rats in our areas. Then we throw in left wing newspapers and the Gay Frisco TV channels, the result is 24/7/365 spewing of the left wing PC agendas.


41 posted on 11/23/2004 6:53:05 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Writers of hate GW/Christians/ Republicans = GIM members, GAY INFECTED MEDIA!)
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To: goldstategop

From what I gathered after the election, California is the only state that actually went even more blue. Every other blue state voted less blue in 2004 than it did in 2000.

Why would one suppoese California turned even bluer, and bucked the trend? I've read that California is losing around 1 million+ Anglos annually.


42 posted on 11/23/2004 6:54:25 AM PST by dg62
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To: dg62
From what I gathered after the election, California is the only state that actually went even more blue.

I'm fairly certain, Vermont did as well. New Hampshire also flipped.

43 posted on 11/23/2004 7:01:46 AM PST by Dan from Michigan ("...don't you fill me up with your rules, cause everybody knows that smoking ain't allowed in (bars))
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To: goldstategop
The coastal counties may not be stagnant or declining in population here yet but the Democrats can't break through into interior "Red" California

Well, then there now - get 'em all separated out and then give that Pacific Plate a good shake - and "Red" California will be on the coast...

sounds like a good plan for separating the wheat from the chaff?

44 posted on 11/23/2004 6:01:55 PM PST by maine-iac7 ( Pray without doubt..."Ask and you SHALL receive")
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To: JohnnyZ; fieldmarshaldj; Kuksool; Clintonfatigued; Dan from Michigan; Coop; Impy; LdSentinal; ...

Here's the list of the 100 fastest-growing counties from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003 (the last date for which the Census Bureau has an estimate): http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/CO-EST2003-09.html

I wanted to see which were the 3 counties that were among the 100 fastest growing but which voted for Senator Kerry over President Bush, and I must say that the answer makes it even more apparent that the GOP owns the exurbs. The 3 fastest-growing Kerry counties were:

Clark County, NV (#53 on the list): Clark County gave Kerry 51.7% of the vote, largely due to the fact that Las Vegas and some of its inner-ring suburbs (such as heavily black North Las Vegas) are in Clark County, but the fast-growing parts of the county vote Republican. If Clark County was split into three or four normal-sized counties instead of being a county that comprises 70% of Nevada's total population, only the inner-city county would have voted for Kerry.

Nantucket County, MA (#86 on the list): Nantucket County made the list because its small population grew by 1,204 people in the 3+ years in question, from 9,520 to 10,724. It is by no means an exurban county, and its growth comes from an increase in wealthy resort denizens who have chosen to make their "cottages" their primary home.

Chatham County, NC (#100 on the list): Chatham County is the only true exurban county carried by Kerry among the 100 fastest growing, but it is the exception that proves the rule, since (i) it barely made the list of the fastest-growing counties, (ii) a large chunk of its population growth came from Hispanic immigrants who moved there to work in the poultry industry, and most of them are not U.S. citizens and thus unable to vote, and (iii) Kerry's unofficial winning margin in the county was 5 votes, and it is quite possible that when they add all of the absentee votes to the official numbers it will turn out that President Bush actually carried the county in 2004.

So stating that in 2004 President Bush carried 97 of the 100 fastest-growing counties in America actually underestimates President Bush's dominance in fast-growing communities.


45 posted on 11/29/2004 2:36:36 PM PST by AuH2ORepublican (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: AuH2ORepublican

That is really good news. We should add the the Hispanic populations moving in that are not citizens and not allowed to vote, but may do so illegally. Ask Bob Doran about illegals voting...


46 posted on 11/29/2004 4:04:52 PM PST by Abram
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To: AuH2ORepublican

Well, after the 2010 census, the red states may pick up 10+_ EV's from the blues after reapportionment..


47 posted on 11/29/2004 4:46:21 PM PST by ken5050
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To: SteveMcKing
religious-based communities (mostly catholic) and have become a slightly conservative middle class.

Its been my experience in NY and NJ that its the Hispanic Evagelicals who are conservative. Most younger Hispanic "Catholics" (I'm talking about the PRs and Dominicans) don't attend Church and are far from conservative.

48 posted on 11/29/2004 4:50:35 PM PST by Clemenza (Gabba Gabba Hey!)
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To: AuH2ORepublican
Bush won the fastest growing county in MI too(Livingston). I'm surprised it didn't make the top 100 list.

Chatham went to Gore as well. It's 17% black and about 10% Latino. (As of 2000)

Clark is 20% Latino and 9% black overall. (37% and 19% in North LV, 23% and 10% in Vegas itself)

49 posted on 11/29/2004 7:21:36 PM PST by Dan from Michigan ("now we got this guy in the Oval office who don't take no sh*t from no gimpy little countries!")
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To: SteveMcKing
-- basically, the burned out hippies of the 60s realized they had to start working for a living or else they would starve to death.

dude, hopefully you're writing down some of your other observances and thoughts. at the rate we're loosing liberal journalists now, we're going to need some replacements.

50 posted on 12/16/2004 5:25:40 AM PST by alrea (Fact based journalism from NPR refers to the DNC or UN sending them a fax.)
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bump for later


51 posted on 04/17/2005 7:45:18 PM PDT by Museum Twenty (Proudly supporting President George W. Bush - Proudly shouting "Rumsfeld '08!")
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; ...
Note: this topic is from 11/22/2004. Thanks Ernest_at_the_Beach, and Merry Christmas.

52 posted on 12/24/2011 7:55:08 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! May 2013 be even Happier!)
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