Much of exurbia (I believe) is now what much of suburbia used to be like as the latter has become more dense. It attracts a bunch similar to suburbans of fifty years ago - but with a more blue-collar appeal which in 2020 means it is more Republican.
Yes, as an economic historian I teach on this in my high school class (though not this political angle.)
Suburbs grew significantly post World War II based on several factors: the greater speed of cars vs. prior which allowed for longer commutes and the construction of roads and highways for new suburban subdivisions, GI loans from the federal government and the Federal Housing Administration that gave subsidies to developers to build these new suburban subdivisions (mostly restricted to white people.)
The majority of people that moved into these areas were young parents with large families as for the same price of renting an apartment in the city, they could get a loan for a house in a suburb. Gasoline was also very cheap at the time.
Most young parents who already have large families are religious and social conservatives.
This isn't to say that all religious social conservatives at that time voted for the conservative party.
However, by the late 1950s the general rule was that big cities were largely Democratic, suburbs were heavily Republican and smaller cities, towns and rural areas were the swing vote areas.
The exurbs of today are basically the same as the suburbs of the 1950s.
