Another election results thread...

[Cardinal]

I have no idea why Democratic presidential candidates, even those who are more liberal than the country as a whole, continue to be competitive in Iowa.

I fyou look at the political tradition of Upper Midwest, it would not be too difficult to answer this question. Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the center of the Populist-Progressive movement in the early 1900's. These did not come out of the cities so much as from the rural countryside. This region gave us the first republican anti-slavery candidate (John C. Fremont, Wisconsin), the rural co-op, kindergartens, and the extension system, among many other progressive ideas. As a region, it is still fairly ethnically homogeneous, coming from northern Europe. (Note the general "liberal" nature of Scandanavian countries.) Seventy percent of Wisconsin residents have German ancestry. It is also worth noting that schools from these three states are consistently ranked the best in the country, and their students have the highest ACT and SAT scores. Intelligent people are more likely to be liberal.

Though many will criticize Tommy Thompson and Jesse Ventura, a republican and an independent, they embodied some of the character of the region. Both introduced sweeping new changes into state government, pioneering new approaches to services delivered by the states. The Upper Midwest likes change. It likes progress.

"Forward"

(That's Wisconsin's state motto.)

[giff57]

I have no idea why Democratic presidential candidates, even those who are more liberal than the country as a whole, continue to be competitive in Iowa.

If you know Iowa geography, all of the blue counties, except two or three are the most urban counties in the state, or a county between two urban ones where the city folk are sprawling.

[boiker]

The Upper Midwest likes change. It likes progress.

..and Illinois likes corrupt politics and inefficent taxing and spending and an incredibly mucked up education system. I don't know how Illinois became so different from our neighbors to the north and west.

[Kovanovich]

I fyou look at the political tradition of Upper Midwest, it would not be too difficult to answer this question. Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the center of the Populist-Progressive movement in the early 1900's. These did not come out of the cities so much as from the rural countryside. This region gave us the first republican anti-slavery candidate (John C. Fremont, Wisconsin), the rural co-op, kindergartens, and the extension system, among many other progressive ideas. As a region, it is still fairly ethnically homogeneous, coming from northern Europe. (Note the general "liberal" nature of Scandanavian countries.) Seventy percent of Wisconsin residents have German ancestry. It is also worth noting that schools from these three states are consistently ranked the best in the country, and their students have the highest ACT and SAT scores. Intelligent people are more likely to be liberal.

Though many will criticize Tommy Thompson and Jesse Ventura, a republican and an independent, they embodied some of the character of the region. Both introduced sweeping new changes into state government, pioneering new approaches to services delivered by the states. The Upper Midwest likes change. It likes progress.

"Forward"

(That's Wisconsin's state motto.)

Well, I am familiar with the Populist/progressive/DLF tradition of the upper midwest -- but I also don't see nearly as many blue counties in Minnesota as I do in Iowa. I suspect that this tradition is increasingly less relevant. Iowa doesn't have a major city (comparable to Milwaukee or Minn-St Paul), which is where Democrats now must pile up votes in order to win...By all rights, Ohio should be easier for the Democrats than Iowa, but Ohio effectively lacks a state Democratic party...Despite this, Kerry gave a good showing in Ohio, easily besting Gore's performance, and nearly won the state. With a state apparatus to work with, he may well have won.

[jordanb]

One thing to consider is that the entire midwest north of about the Mason Dixon line (extended west) was settled from the north, and everything south of that was settled from the south. Indiana's major population center is south of that, and it went handily to Bush. Ohio has population centers both north and south, and it split. Every other state touching the Great Lakes went to Kerry.

[jordanb]

A cartogram of the country by county (as requested):

[H]

A cartogram of the country by county (as requested):

Thanks for the new wallpaper!

I think that is really cool, and I mean that in the most "non-partison just liker of cool stuff" sorta way.

[AubieTurtle]

A cartogram of the country by county (as requested):

Groovy! Can I get that in a black light poster version?

At first I thought it was just a joke but I can recognize some counties and it all appears correct. Who made the map?