Why is Montgomery County, Texas so conservative? (Houston, Dallas: middle-class, houses)

[pwumavs]

Montgomery County, north of Houston, has always stood out among Texas's suburban counties as being far more conservative than even the other conservative stronghold suburban counties. It's such a Republican-leaning county that margins there rival those of rural Texas counties of far smaller population or importance.

Montgomery has routinely given upwards of 75% of its vote to Republican presidential candidates, and this has not changed in the 2016 election. In contrast, other fast-growth suburban counties such as Collin (north of Dallas), Denton (north of Dallas and Fort Worth), Rockwall (northeast of Dallas), Williamson (north of Austin), and Galveston (southeast of Houston) are counties where the margins between Republican and Democratic votes have never been quite so vast. In Collin, Denton, Williamson, and Galveston, Republican votes in the 60-something % range have been common in the most recent elections, and these dipped down into the 50s in yesterday's election. Rockwall has been in the 70s for the most part, but routinely a few percentage points lower than Montgomery. Fort Bend (southwest of Houston), the most diverse of the suburban counties in the state, actually flipped this year to the Democrats by a convincing margin.

I can understand Collin being far less Republican than Montgomery, given Collin's diversity, but Rockwall is substantially whiter than even Montgomery and presumably a bit less college-educated. It is also a county of much smaller population.

What's in the air in Montgomery County? It doesn't feel any different from other newer, middle-class suburban/exurban areas in Texas, and it's not substantially whiter. Why is it that much more Republican?

[lotophage]

Montgomery County is, I think, much more rural and blue-collar. Fort Bend just feels like suburbs of Houston. The people I know from Montgomery (my parents lived there) are much more country.

[Milton Miteybad]

It's partially explained by the fact that a sizable percentage of the residents in Montgomery County are employed by or do business with the oil and gas sector (Exxon Mobil, Anadarko, Southwestern, etc., along with scores of service companies in the area.)

The oil and gas biz is, as you may have heard, a very conservative lot, politically speaking.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by lotophage

Montgomery County is, I think, much more rural and blue-collar. Fort Bend just feels like suburbs of Houston. The people I know from Montgomery (my parents lived there) are much more country.

Actually Fort Bend (at least north of the Brazos including Rosenberg & Richmond) is really part of West/Southwest Houston that the city did not yet annex. The South County has its own identity and is still rural due to distance and a lack of a freeway corridor (the SH 122 Bay City freeway) through it. The far western/northern rural parts north of the Brazos don't have much time left before the land is bought by suburban developers and become houses and strip malls. 5 years from now, there will be no more horse pastures, ranches/farms left in North Fort Bend.

[lotophage]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Actually Fort Bend (at least north of the Brazos including Rosenberg & Richmond) is really part of West/Southwest Houston that the city did not yet annex. The South County has its own identity and is still rural due to distance and a lack of a freeway corridor (the SH 122 Bay City freeway) through it. The far western/northern rural parts north of the Brazos don't have much time left before the land is bought by suburban developers and become houses and strip malls. 5 years from now, there will be no more horse pastures, ranches/farms left in North Fort Bend.

Yeah, I was trying to find a delicate way of saying it. But Conroe isn't Houston culture. It's more like Texas/Dixie country culture. I don't mean it in a bad way, but it's noticeably different.

[pwumavs]

Thanks for the responses.

I definitely get the whole country/Dixie vibe in some of the northern, more rural fringe of Montgomery (and even know someone who's from one of those fringe small towns), but is that the majority of the voter base? One would think folks living in The Woodlands and northern Spring would comprise a far greater share of the electorate. Those areas don't seem country to me. In fact, they just seem like any other suburb, with the same types of white-collar and service-industry suburbanites you see anywhere else, including people of color.

The oil and gas angle makes sense, though. But one could also counter that the Houston area as a whole is a big oil and gas town, and yet Houston isn't any less Democratic of a city than Dallas, where oil and gas are only minor players in the economy.

[testmo]

Ft bend is hugely more diverse than montgomery county. Montgomery is hard core white and within my own lifetime had a reputation for being pretty damn country. Take into consideration also most texans dont vote so one could imagine quite a few woodlands people skip the polls

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by pwumavs

Montgomery County, north of Houston, has always stood out among Texas's suburban counties as being far more conservative than even the other conservative stronghold suburban counties. It's such a Republican-leaning county that margins there rival those of rural Texas counties of far smaller population or importance.

Montgomery has routinely given upwards of 75% of its vote to Republican presidential candidates, and this has not changed in the 2016 election. In contrast, other fast-growth suburban counties such as Collin (north of Dallas), Denton (north of Dallas and Fort Worth), Rockwall (northeast of Dallas), Williamson (north of Austin), and Galveston (southeast of Houston) are counties where the margins between Republican and Democratic votes have never been quite so vast. In Collin, Denton, Williamson, and Galveston, Republican votes in the 60-something % range have been common in the most recent elections, and these dipped down into the 50s in yesterday's election. Rockwall has been in the 70s for the most part, but routinely a few percentage points lower than Montgomery. Fort Bend (southwest of Houston), the most diverse of the suburban counties in the state, actually flipped this year to the Democrats by a convincing margin.

I can understand Collin being far less Republican than Montgomery, given Collin's diversity, but Rockwall is substantially whiter than even Montgomery and presumably a bit less college-educated. It is also a county of much smaller population.

What's in the air in Montgomery County? It doesn't feel any different from other newer, middle-class suburban/exurban areas in Texas, and it's not substantially whiter. Why is it that much more Republican?

Just visited friends there who live in The Woodlands and they also grew up in Montgomery County. the reasons are:

1) Montgomery Co. was more old school east Texas which is basically southern.
2) The Woodlands is a very upscale suburb developed from oil company headquarters there and has very upscale housing and is overwhelmingly white
3) Many of the people living in Montgomery Country are whites that moved there to have their kids in the school district there which is very excellent.
4) Because of its tradition of Republican conservatism, conservatives make an effort to live there and liberals avoid it.

[NigerianNightmare]

Not only do conservatives make an effort to live in Montgomery. Houston has the most conservative whites of any Metro in the U.S. and like San Antonio it is filled with a strong Tejano population that vote Republican so an area that is 50% White in Houston is a lot more conservative than an area that is 50% White in Dallas. Same with the Hispanic population and the woodlands area takes it to the extreme. Many Hispanics in the Woodlands area aren’t only tejanos but Venezuelans, Argentinians and other Hispanic groups that are either involved in oil and gas like Venezuelans are or are traditionally more conservative than most other immigrant groups. All of this ties in with Montgomery being a conservative stronghold. Also the two most dominant cities in Montgomery are the Woodlands which is known for being conservative exurb while at the same time known for being uppity, keeping up with the joneses and non-laidback which is normally a liberal stereotype it seems. Their is also Conroe which is so far removed its hard to call it Houston. The areas of Montgomery that directly borders Spring is the only area that might swing liberal, Conroe may eventually go liberal as it is has a higher chance of attracting minorities than Woodlands as it already has a high minority’s population and is cheaper. Also you have to realize that both the Woodlands and Conroe are miles and miles from even the furthest burbs on the south, west and east side, SE towards Galveston is the only area that can argue a longer commute.

[Double L]

You would not believe how incredibly far right Montgomery County politics are and it’s only going more far right. People there will jump through hula-hoops to prove how conservative they are politically. I think it is because the area is so rural.