By Metro Area, White Houston Voters are the Most Republican in the Nation (Metros over 1 million) (Dallas: to live, cost)

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Spade

I'm surprised this is not higher. Ft. Bend County is probably the most purplish suburban county in Texas.

The white people in Fort Bend are pretty conservative though.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Inphosphere

It's not that. It is just showing a statistic involving how a certain demographic (NH whites) voted in the 2012 election, in terms of percentages that voted for Obama.

Good point, you would actually need to look at the results of the last several elections to get a better idea. It may just mean that the incumbent (Obama) in the case of the 2012 election just pissed more people off in one area than another.

I also agree that the geographic scope of Harris county makes comparing Harris county to Dallas county problematic. A direct comparison between Dallas County and the city of Houston would probably be a more apple to apple comparison since they are both roughly the same population. Dallas County 2.36 mil COH 2.1 mil according to the 2010 census...

[Inphosphere]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Good point, you would actually need to look at the results of the last several elections to get a better idea. It may just mean that the incumbent (Obama) in the case of the 2012 election just pissed more people off in one area than another.

I also agree that the geographic scope of Harris county makes comparing Harris county to Dallas county problematic. A direct comparison between Dallas County and the city of Houston would probably be a more apple to apple comparison since they are both roughly the same population. Dallas County 2.36 mil COH 2.1 mil according to the 2010 census...

Also, recent events can play role. A year prior to 2012, Houston didn't receive a retired shuttle after (it went to NYC), so all the conservatives, especially those in Clear Lake, would have gotten all upset, and wanted to "voice their anger" through the polls (i.e. "Obama played politics with that decision").

[OneBeachBum]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

I would speculate that the native-born Texans have been migrating to Houston because the new jobs (usually the non-oil jobs that Houston needs to diversify) have been filled by the incumbent transplants who decide to keep the job and move with the company to "Texas!!!", usually along the I-35 corridor. I've been seeing lots of cars in Houston with signs of having lived in Dallas at one point such as (NTTA) 'T' tags, registration sticker from a DFW county, and/or license plate frame/airbrushed dealer logo from DFW.

I got an NTTA tag about 6 months ago and only lived in Dallas for like 3 months way back in 2009. I got the NTTA tag because it's accepted on ALL Texas toll roads and they don't require the $100+ to buy the transponder sticker and pay an account deposit like the HCTRA.

From NTTA, the stickers were free and I only had to deposit $20 into my account.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Inphosphere

Also, recent events can play role. A year prior to 2012, Houston didn't receive a retired shuttle after (it went to NYC), so all the conservatives, especially those in Clear Lake, would have gotten all upset, and wanted to "voice their anger" through the polls (i.e. "Obama played politics with that decision").

I;m sure some Democrats in Houston were upset enough about that to at least not vote or vote for the Green party candidate or something. Obama made several decisions concerning the manned space program that negatively affected the JSC not just the Shuttle.

Also there were other issues in other industries that pitted the President against several political and economic interest in Houston more so than other Texas Metros.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I also agree that the geographic scope of Harris county makes comparing Harris county to Dallas county problematic. A direct comparison between Dallas County and the city of Houston would probably be a more apple to apple comparison since they are both roughly the same population. Dallas County 2.36 mil COH 2.1 mil according to the 2010 census...

And the problem of comparing Greater Houston to DFW would be?

[Soonhun]

Originally Posted by Inphosphere

I've already explained here:


The counties of Dallas and Atlanta are smaller in area than Harris county, and their populations are more concentrated/focused in their cities. If Harris county were shrunk to be more centric on the city, then the % goes up, as the proportionality of liberal white voters (places like Montrose) goes up.

Actually, no. About the same percent of residents in Harris County live in Houston as the percent of residents in Dallas County live in Dallas. In fact, slightly higher in Harris County, according to 2010 data (both ~51%). According to 2012 estimates, the percentages remain almost 51% for Harris County and almost 49% for Dallas County. Dallas County is more "suburban" than Harris County if we are going by city limits.

[Inphosphere]

Originally Posted by Parhe

Actually, no. About the same percent of residents in Harris County live in Houston as the percent of residents in Dallas County live in Dallas. In fact, slightly higher in Harris County, according to 2010 data (both ~51%). According to 2012 estimates, the percentages remain almost 51% for Harris County and almost 49% for Dallas County. Dallas County is more "suburban" than Harris County if we are going by city limits.

Actually yes. Not necessarily in terms of actual concentration, but on focus. Look at Dallas in relation to Dallas County; the design is in a manner that allows great focus on Dallas, as the city is central. Then, you have the other close-ring suburbs within the county. Because of the county's small size, and metroplex dynamic, these various suburbs sync with Dallas, and function as part of the urban core. Conservative type voters flee to the exurbs outside of Dallas county, and the proportional percentage of White democratic vote increases.

In Harris county, Houston is basically the southern end of the county, and isn't "central;" lots of rural/suburban land that barely syncs with the city. There is a central urban core, but city limits extend to include lots of suburb type areas, and before they could have developed into proper sync with the city. As a result, these city-limit suburbs are not "inner-ring" style, but more "traditional" style, that just happens to be part of the city (Kingwood). The demographics then get muddied, compared to what you see in the Metroplex.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

And the problem of comparing Greater Houston to DFW would be?

For one how can you tell exactly how "white" people are voting ? Just because 90% of a precinct is white and 90% of that precinct voted republican is no guarantee that just white voters voted republican, it is a secret ballot. You also don't know how many Republicans in DFW decided not to vote. Two you analyzed only one election so there could be a particular bias towards one or more of the candidates in that one election. Three, the differences in the proportion of Republicans (assuming your figures are accurate) are not substantially different as to even suggest that there may be a different result anyway, all you need is 50% + 1 to win an election. So what was the point of this analysis in the first place ?

[Soonhun]

Originally Posted by Inphosphere

Actually yes. Not necessarily in terms of actual concentration, but on focus. Look at Dallas in relation to Dallas County; the design is in a manner that allows great focus on Dallas, as the city is central. Then, you have the other close-ring suburbs within the county. Because of the county's small size, and metroplex dynamic, these various suburbs sync with Dallas, and function as part of the urban core. Conservative type voters flee to the exurbs outside of Dallas county, and the proportional percentage of White democratic vote increases.

In Harris county, Houston is basically the southern end of the county, and isn't "central;" lots of rural/suburban land that barely syncs with the city. There is a central urban core, but city limits extend to include lots of suburb type areas, and before they could have developed into proper sync with the city. As a result, these city-limit suburbs are not "inner-ring" style, but more "traditional" style, that just happens to be part of the city (Kingwood). The demographics then get muddied, compared to what you see in the Metroplex.

Dallas has a lot of traditional style suburbs within its city limits, more so than urban and inner ring suburban development, in my opinion. If I remember correctly, all the suburbs within Dallas County, particularly the larger ones which are job centers themselves, are traditional suburb in layout except maybe Addison, which is relatively tiny and considered an outlier in the region. If anything, I would say Harris County suburbs is more Houston centered if only because all of Houston's suburbs are so small, aside from the Woodlands outside of Harris and more dependent on it economically.

The only reason these suburbs sync so well with Dallas, aside from regional prude, is because Dallas itself is so traditional suburban like the rest of the county.

Also, speaking of the unincorporated on the far ends of Harris county from the Houston city limit, how many white people even live there to skew the numbers?