Shift in voting trends

[Ahriman]

These voters and their communities reflect an increasingly visible national trend in which older suburbs are straying from their Republican roots while newer communities on the fringes of metropolitan areas are supplying a fresh stream of support for conservatives.

And in Ohio, with much of the state already locked in -- Cincinnati for Bush, Cleveland and northeast Ohio for Kerry -- both sides are focusing on Columbus and its suburbs as a potential fulcrum.

They are preparing for hand-to-hand combat on Election Day and are already lodging strikingly parallel accusations about their adversaries: pilfered lawn signs, vandalized bumper stickers, fraudulent registrations and interference with new voter sign-ups.

The complaints may seem trivial, but the stakes could be incalculable. Two recent polls show Bush and Kerry in a statistical tie among likely voters in Ohio, a state that both parties have long targeted in the belief that its 20 electoral votes could tip the election just as Florida did four years ago.


http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usburb1025,0,663692.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

[GOPBasher]

1. Interesting stuff.

Thanks for posting! :bounce:

[David__77]

2. Where I live, there are a couple categories of suburbs.

There are the new "white flight" suburbs where there's a lot of money and a lot of Republicans. They tend to be "socially moderate," but this is California. The old suburbs are trending Democratic in many areas. Some areas that were formerly considered suburban are now incorporating into cities and getting a more urban feel to them. I expect that as these areas diversify, Democratic strength there will rise.