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I've often wondered about what the most politically diverse regions in the country are. I live in Maryland, we have Anne Arundel county which is very politically diverse. But it is in a solidly blue state. Are there any 50/50 counties in border states like Ohio, Florida or North Carolina?
I think that you can easily find fairly balanced counties in the small group of contentious purple states. However, you might want to qualify it further with a specific population requirement. I think it would be much more interesting to find a highly populated county in one of these states that closely matches the political balance of the state itself.
In NC, New Hanover (Wilmington) is the largest county that most closely matches the state's presidential election result, but it's only a county of about 225,000. That county's spread for Trump was +4.1 pts while NC was Trump +3.8. The next closest sizable county was Forsyth (Winston-Salem) and that one was Clinton +10 pts. It has about 375,000 people. The three largest counties in the state were all Clinton +20 pts or more.
In Massachusetts, the Boston area is very Liberal and the Connecticut River Valley is very liberal. But Worcester County and I think Bristol and Plymouth Counties are 50/50
Not in terms of being purple, but in having a wide spectrum of beliefs represented, I'd imagine King County, WA is up there. Seattle is one of the most, if not the most progressive major cities in the country these days, but its metro area mainly sprawls north/south/southwest and not very far east, so there's a pretty geographically large rural section of the county. And rural central/eastern Washington and Oregon are known for being reactionary and gun-loving (think of the Bundy standoff).
I once heard that presidential election outcomes are often determined by white females who reside in the Interstate 4 corridor of Central Florida, which is a "swing region" located in a "swing state." Accordingly, I presume that Orange County, FL (home to Orlando) and Hillsborough County, FL (home to Tampa) are among the most politically diverse counties in one of the most politically diverse states.
I once heard that presidential election outcomes are often determined by white females who reside in the Interstate 4 corridor of Central Florida, which is a "swing region" located in a "swing state." Accordingly, I presume that Orange County, FL (home to Orlando) and Hillsborough County, FL (home to Tampa) are among the most politically diverse counties in one of the most politically diverse states.
Central Florida is certainly a politically diverse and pretty balanced region, but some of its counties are rather skewed to one side. Orange County voted about 60% Clinton/35% Trump, so it is not even remotely typical of Florida and the nation. Unlike many other parts of Florida, Orange is more of a destination for young adults than retirees, and it is very culturally diverse, so the demographics line up much better for the Democratic party.
As my post from last year stated, Pinellas County (St. Petersburg/Clearwater area) is more of a bellwether, voting 48% Trump/47% Clinton. In 2018 Pinellas voted for the Democratic governor and senate candidates who barely lost statewide, so it isn't locked down for either party.
Florida: Pinellas County, aka Saint Petersburg
Michigan: Kent County, aka Grand Rapids
Ohio: Hamilton County, aka Cincinnati and inner suburbs
Pennsylvania: Bucks County
In Massachusetts, the Boston area is very Liberal and the Connecticut River Valley is very liberal. But Worcester County and I think Bristol and Plymouth Counties are 50/50
All three are blue. The GOP hasn't won Plymouth or Worcester since 1988, and Bristol hasn't gone to the Republican presidential candidate since 1956!
Hillary won Worcester by double digits, Bristol by nearly ten percent, and Plymouth by 8 percent. Bristol County is trending GOP though. The others are trending Dem.
I once heard that presidential election outcomes are often determined by white females who reside in the Interstate 4 corridor of Central Florida, which is a "swing region" located in a "swing state." Accordingly, I presume that Orange County, FL (home to Orlando) and Hillsborough County, FL (home to Tampa) are among the most politically diverse counties in one of the most politically diverse states.
Andrew Gillum won Hillsborough by 9 percent and Orange by 25 percent. So Tampa is lean Blue and Orlando is solid Blue.
Tampa is swingy as a region though because Pasco, Hernando, Polk, Sarasota and Manatee all vote GOP, cancelling out the Tampa vote.
Orlando is not firmly lean Dem as region since Seminole and Osceola, two suburban counties, are also blue now. At the same time, the Space Coast and Daytona area are strongly red now, which eats into the Orlando base.
And then you have Ocala, The Villages, and Palm Bay just to the north of the Interstate 4 corridor padding the GOP margins.
So Florida elections is basically the corridor's light blue hue being cancelled out by Ocala/The Village, etc., and then the Redneck Riviera + Jacksonville + SW Florida trying to outvote Miami.
Orange County, CA it has over 3+ million residents so it actually matters as well.
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