GOP losing ground in SD County (San Diego, Orange: houses, high income, taxation)

[sav858]

Read this article today in the U-T about San Diego County possibly could have more registered democrats than republicans by election day. As of Oct 1, 2008 35.9% of San Diego County voters were registered democrats and 37.1% were republicans.

It's not like SD County is turning into the Bay Area or anything like that but I just found it interesting that current trend in the county towards a more even split electorate.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Politics -- GOP is losing ground in county

[happ]

It's another signal to the GOP that California looks to the Left for direction [until they sever all ties to neocons/ evangelicals]. When the sitting GOP governor is less popular among Republicans than Democrats then one knows that ideological positions of the Right are rejected by Californians. Orange county is also seeing declines in the GOP [who would have ever thought that 20 yrs ago?

San Diego's unfortunate situation is that the military presence is so strong\ large installations that out-of-state people move into California with political leanings toward the Bible Belt

[j760]

Originally Posted by happ

San Diego's unfortunate situation is that the military presence is so strong\ large installations that out-of-state people move into California with political leanings toward the Bible Belt

Unfortunate situation that the military presence is so strong? Heaven forbid that our brave men & women help keep parts of San Diego somewhat conservative. Your entitled to any sort of political beliefs you wish, and while I disagree with a lot of liberal thinking I'm glad that San Diego does have quite a mix of liberal & conservative ways of life in different parts of the county. Your statement above though is out of line in my opinion.

[sdurbanite]

Thanks for linking that article, sav858. I, for one, am glad to see this trend happening.

So much for San Diego being a bastion of conservatism.



Tables from article:

[happ]

Originally Posted by j760

Unfortunate situation that the military presence is so strong? Heaven forbid that our brave men & women help keep parts of San Diego somewhat conservative. Your entitled to any sort of political beliefs you wish, and while I disagree with a lot of liberal thinking I'm glad that San Diego does have quite a mix of liberal & conservative ways of life in different parts of the county. Your statement above though is out of line in my opinion.

No offense was meant sorry.

The reality that San Diego county houses the largest military presence in California has a definite impact on voting patterns. No other county includes a constant influx & outflow of out-of-state people. Many bases across the state have been closed over the last 25 yrs since they were no longer needed by the military [even in San Diego county]. Maybe that is another reason for lower GOP numbers in California.

[sav858]

I like seeing this trend too, I'm tired of SD County being labeled as so conservative and republican by some. And I agree with j760; I'm a left leaning moderate and I do appreciate the diversity of views here whether or not I agree with them. You can learn a lot from people with different views and values or at least understand where they're coming from. I also like how SD has a high percentage of independent and decline to state voters, I'm an independent myself.

[krudmonk]

Finally. Welcome to California.

[kettlepot]

The GOP has been losing strength in the wealthier coastal part of California for the past 40 years. It's area of strength has moved to the Central Valley. For example, in 1964 Shasta County was the 3rd (out of 58) most Democratic county by registration in the state. 40 years later it was the 5th most Republican County.

You can see a mini-repeat of this within San Diego, where the high cost, high income coastal areas have been trending leftward for the past two decades while the GOP retains its strength in the lower cost inland portions of the county.

[esmith143]

I don't think that military has anything to do with that.

Did you notice which cities have highest percentages of Republicans? Top 3: Poway, Coronado, Santee. Coronado is so expensive that soldiers can't afford to live there. There are no bases in or near Poway or Santee.

The fact is, San Diego is wealthier than many other counties, and wealthy people vote Republican to protect their money from taxation.

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by esmith143

The fact is, San Diego is wealthier than many other counties, and wealthy people vote Republican to protect their money from taxation.

...except in LA, SF, NY, Washtington DC, Chicago, Seattle... I could go on and on.