Unrelated from the recent discussions, but does anyone have a reason why Jefferson County (SE Texas - Beaumont) is still a battleground county? Demographic-wise, it seems it should favor Republicans, although not overwhelmingly so. Could it be an anomaly left over from the heavily Democratic South days?
IIRC it has a very significant black population and a large university.
I understand what you and Flo are saying, although Waller County, just NW of Harris, is home to the historically black Prairie View A&M, and has roughly similar demographics to Jefferson (if not more D leaning), yet voted ~58-41 for Romney vs. 50.3-48.7 for Obama in Jefferson County.
Checking Google there have been significant controversies over whether Prairie View A&M students can vote in Waller County; I can't find something similar for Lamar University, so it's likely the university has a more outsized impact. Jefferson also has over 5x the population of Waller, so there's that. More urban liberals.
