Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think it's definitely accurate to call Pennsylvania a Democratic-leaning purple state (a clarification: in the past 10 Presidential elections [since 1984], PA was in the Democratic column 7 times).
I think politically both states were more in sync in prior decades, but given that Pennsylvania was approximately 9% more Democratic than Ohio as of the 2020 election cycle, there's definitely a divergence worth noting there. And states like New Hampshire and Maine actually aren't too far off from Pennsylvania in political makeup, either.
My original post was correct. Yes, it's true that Pennsylvania voted blue 7 times in the past 10 Presidential elections, though Democrats only won a majority of the vote (meaning >50%) 4 of those 7 times. In 1992, 1996, and 2020, Democrats won by plurality, not majority (although Biden currently has 49.96% percent of the vote, not sure if any votes are still being counted here that could push him over 50). The fact that >50% of voters didn't vote for Democrats in at least 5 out of the last 10 elections is why I'm hesitant to call Pennsylvania a blue state.
Also, I don't think your statement of Pennsylvania being 9% more democratic than Ohio in the 2020 election is correct. Biden won 50% / 45.3% of the vote in Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. That's a 4.7% difference, which isn't huge. I do agree Pennsylvania isn't far off from New Hampshire / Maine. That said, those two states are not typical of the voting patterns in the rest of the Northeast. Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Delaware vote significantly bluer.
My original post was correct. Yes, it's true that Pennsylvania voted blue 7 times in the past 10 Presidential elections, though Democrats only won a majority of the vote (meaning >50%) 4 of those 7 times. In 1992, 1996, and 2020, Democrats won by plurality, not majority (although Biden currently has 49.96% percent of the vote, not sure if any votes are still being counted here that could push him over 50). The fact that >50% of voters didn't vote for Democrats in at least 5 out of the last 10 elections is why I'm hesitant to call Pennsylvania a blue state.
I explained why the "blue-leaning purple state" description is most apt in terms of voting outcomes. Even a plurality of support means that there's a greater likelihood of Democratic support overall. The fact that Democrats still have a 700K+ registration margin in the state underscores this description (as we're all aware, election results are a representation of only those voting, not the entire electoral population).
Quote:
Originally Posted by nadnerb
Also, I don't think your statement of Pennsylvania being 9% more democratic than Ohio in the 2020 election is correct. Biden won 50% / 45.3% of the vote in Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. That's a 4.7% difference, which isn't huge. I do agree Pennsylvania isn't far off from New Hampshire / Maine. That said, those two states are not typical of the voting patterns in the rest of the Northeast. Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Delaware vote significantly bluer.
If you count only Democratic margin, you're correct. I'm referring to the differential of the margin of victory in each state (i.e., +8 Trump in OH versus +1 Biden in PA).
Ohio is much more similar to Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia than it is to any part of Pennsylvania. Even Northeast Ohio that borders Pennsylvania shares little with PA culture and connections. I am currently on assignment in Erie, PA and live in Ohio and the difference between people once you cross state line in that area is noticeable.
I have also lived all across Kentucky and did business all through Southern Indiana up to Indianapolis and there were many similarities to Ohio. Indy and Columbus are quite similar and not too far from each other, a general Midwestern vibe.
Indiana and Ohio are also red States now, well Indiana has been for a while, but Ohio is trending into Red State territory like Missouri, Tennessee and Indiana. PA in the other hand is a reliably Blue state and is Yankee in attitude...it definitely belongs in the Northeast. People are rude, fast paced and liberal. Ohioans are friendlier, live and let live folks with a conservative lean, even in its cities (Cincinnati).
Ohio is much more similar to Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia than it is to any part of Pennsylvania. Even Northeast Ohio that borders Pennsylvania shares little with PA culture and connections. I am currently on assignment in Erie, PA and live in Ohio and the difference between people once you cross state line in that area is noticeable.
I'm not sure which Ohio you are looking at, but it certainly isn't Northeast Ohio. NEO was part of the Connecticut "Western Reserve" and has always maintained quite a bit of New England architecture, culture, values and even educational systems and emphases. Cleveland city, and especially University Circle and its Eastern suburbs reflect this. If you don't believe it, go to Shaker Heights or Cleveland Hts, or Hudson or Painesville or Chagrin Falls or Gates Mills ... etc, etc. Even to the west of the city there are liberal-cultural-NE influenced bastions such as Oberlin and, to a lesser extent, Berea.
These areas, individually, as well as NEO as a whole bear little in common with downstate Ohio, esp Ohiotucky surrounding Cincinnati. Downstate Ohio is more like Indiana, for sure, but not NEO.
I'm not sure which Ohio you are looking at, but it certainly isn't Northeast Ohio. NEO was part of the Connecticut "Western Reserve" and has always maintained quite a bit of New England architecture, culture, values and even educational systems and emphases. Cleveland city, and especially University Circle and its Eastern suburbs reflect this. If you don't believe it, go to Shaker Heights or Cleveland Hts, or Hudson or Painesville or Chagrin Falls or Gates Mills ... etc, etc. Even to the west of the city there are liberal-cultural-NE influenced bastions such as Oberlin and, to a lesser extent, Berea.
These areas, individually, as well as NEO as a whole bear little in common with downstate Ohio, esp Ohiotucky surrounding Cincinnati. Downstate Ohio is more like Indiana, for sure, but not NEO.
You need to leave the Cleveland and Cuyahoga County bubble more often Prof, as the areas and counties surrounding Cleveland are as Midwestern as other areas of Ohio. Only people on City Data and some academics know or care about the “Western Reserve”, it means little in today’s world. I sense that some people are ashamed to be labeled Midwestern, but it is nothing to be ashamed of.
Ohio and Cleveland are Midwestern and match ethnic demographics of the region, voting patterns of the region, and geographical similarities to the region. Sure, Cleveland does have a Great Lakes vibe, but to say Cleveland is more similar to anything in Pennsylvania is naive and ignorant.
As to your comment about “Ohiotucky” and Cincinnati...oddly enough, Cincinnati is the one city in Ohio that actually resembles the Northeast in Architecture and migration patterns and the city it most resembles is Pittsburgh.
But overall, Ohio is Indiana 2.0 and I have travelled across this Country enough to know the majority agree with me in that assertion.
Ohio is.....OHIO. It's got several different sub regions that resemble several diffent states. I would say more of our state resembles Indiana but a significant portion is connected to Western PA.
Ohio is.....OHIO. It's got several different sub regions that resemble several diffent states. I would say more of our state resembles Indiana but a significant portion is connected to Western PA.
That is an interesting perspective and I do agree with you that Ohio can be divided into sub regions as we border multiple different major regions.
Do you think Ohio is really like Western PA or is Western PA more like Ohio? I’ve seen the question asked before about Pittsburgh’s regional identity and some say Midwest and others say Northeast.
I think Ohio is a big mixture of all of it's surrounding states. It just depends on where you are. You can drive an hour in Ohio and people sound completely different. It's where the midwest, northeast, appalachia and great lakes all come together.
This. The small cities and towns in NE Ohio feel like New England, which makes sense given that the area was once part of Connecticut. Cleveland has a Midwest feel, like a smaller Chicago. SE Ohio is very Appalachian and feels like West Virginia and Western PA. Cincinnati and SW Ohio have some southern vibes. Columbus and the rest of the state are very midwestern.
Ohio is much more similar to Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia than it is to any part of Pennsylvania. Even Northeast Ohio that borders Pennsylvania shares little with PA culture and connections. I am currently on assignment in Erie, PA and live in Ohio and the difference between people once you cross state line in that area is noticeable.
I have also lived all across Kentucky and did business all through Southern Indiana up to Indianapolis and there were many similarities to Ohio. Indy and Columbus are quite similar and not too far from each other, a general Midwestern vibe.
Indiana and Ohio are also red States now, well Indiana has been for a while, but Ohio is trending into Red State territory like Missouri, Tennessee and Indiana. PA in the other hand is a reliably Blue state and is Yankee in attitude...it definitely belongs in the Northeast. People are rude, fast paced and liberal. Ohioans are friendlier, live and let live folks with a conservative lean, even in its cities (Cincinnati).
Southern Ohio yes, outside of the Appalachian region of the state, no.
Ohio is much more similar to Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia than it is to any part of Pennsylvania. Even Northeast Ohio that borders Pennsylvania shares little with PA culture and connections. I am currently on assignment in Erie, PA and live in Ohio and the difference between people once you cross state line in that area is noticeable.
I have also lived all across Kentucky and did business all through Southern Indiana up to Indianapolis and there were many similarities to Ohio. Indy and Columbus are quite similar and not too far from each other, a general Midwestern vibe.
Indiana and Ohio are also red States now, well Indiana has been for a while, but Ohio is trending into Red State territory like Missouri, Tennessee and Indiana. PA in the other hand is a reliably Blue state and is Yankee in attitude...it definitely belongs in the Northeast. People are rude, fast paced and liberal. Ohioans are friendlier, live and let live folks with a conservative lean, even in its cities (Cincinnati).
This is 100% accurate.
Ohio is far more Indiana in feel than Pennsylvania.
Sure portions of Western PA can have a small town/rural feel.
But most of Pennsylvania is very colonial in its history and architecture.
And yes even Erie, PA is more similar to Buffalo, NY than Cleveland, OH.
And while PA and OH have red rural areas. PA cities are far more liberal than OH cities, and why Pennsylvania trends blue overall in almost every election.
Pennsylvania has a Democratic Governor as well.
These are street views of Pennsylvania colonial architecture. Ohio was not a colony.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
