Describe the likely political history of the previous hypothetical county

[Sol]

Here's another game (mods please move if there's a better place for it to go).

Name: McFee County
State: Ohio
Region: South-Central Ohio
Geographical Type: Small City (+rural/suburban surrounds)
Median Household Income: $44,000
Population: 76,299
Racial Demographics: 87% White, 11% Black, 1% Latino, 1% Mixed, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% Native.
Demographic Notes: Settled historically by southerners as part of "Butternut Ohio." Large numbers of Polish-Americans and West Virginians, as well as African-Americans, due to historic industry.
Economy: Historically steel industry; presently in heavy decline.
Other notable notes: A Berea College-esque university in the rural Eastern portion.

Then give the county's winner from 2000-2020!

[Sol]

Gore/Kerry/Obama/Obama/Clinton/Biden, and never really close. Big swing to Trump 2020 though.

Name: Taria County
State: Fictional State; a sunbelt southern state in the vein of Georgia or Florida.
Region: US South
Geographical Type: Suburb of major metropolitan area
Population: 392,304
Racial Demographics: 56% white, 22% Black, 12% Asian, 7% Latino, 3% Other
Demographic Notes: About half of the Asian-American population is refugees or descendants of refugees, particularly Cambodians.
MHI: $79,934
Other Notes: Located on the shore. Strongly polarized between the affluent and mostly white coastal section and the poorer and Black/Asian inland section. Has a large military base. Has a massive number of retirees.

[Sol]

I think it's pretty firmly D these days. Gore-Kerry-Obama-Obama-Clinton-Biden. In competitive Dem primaries, probably voted something like Clinton-Clinton-Sanders.

Name: Bell County
State: Same fictional state as previous, a sunbelt southern state in the vein of Georgia or Florida
Region: US South
Geographical Type: Suburb of major metro area (same city as previous)
Population: 418,006
Racial Demographics: 45% Black, 42% White, 7% Latino, 5% Asian
Demographic Notes: The large majority of Asian-Americans are Cambodian. Was majority-white in the 2000 census but has seen a rapid increase in the Black population
MHI: $57,485
Other notes: Has a decent retiree community in its small beach area. The white population is heavily evangelical.

[Sol]

I'm going to say very narrowly but stubbornly Democratic. Gore-Bush-Obama-Obama-Clinton-Biden.

Name: Missouri County
State: South Dakota
Region: Southeastern South Dakota
Population: 28,756
Median Household Income: $29,888
Racial Demographics: 58% white, 28% Native American, 9% Latino, 3% Black, 1% Asian
Ancestry Notes: Whites are disproportionately Scandinavian. The county is home to a large Lakota reservation. The county seat, Pacifica, is a major meatpacking center. Virtually all African-Americans in the county are Somali.

[Sol]

Name: Quintalla County
State: Texas
Region: Rio Grande Valley
Population: 35,000
Median household income: $28,000
Racial demographics: 98% Latino, 1.7% White,0.2% black, trace numbers of other
Ancestry notes: A good chunk of them are descended from people from Andalucia and indigenous people.
Geography notes: is a flat, landlocked county that is east of Laredo, but doesn’t directly touch the border itself.
Other notes:
- Main industry is fracking
- Has an Anglo named county seat about the side of Bastrop
- is mostly quite rural

Deep Blue (or red in Atlas colors) county which may have never voted for a Republican presidentially. The best performances for Republicans in recent years were in 2004 and 2020.

Name: Itascopolis (independent city)
State: Itasca (fictional state from my Sylvania series)--basically upper midwest
Region: Western Itasca (basically equivalent to Western or North-central Minnesota)
Population: 111,299
Geographic Type: Mostly urban, but the city has odd boundaries so it includes lots of suburban, exurban and rural areas.
Median household income: $56,000
Racial Demographics: 83% white, 5% Latino, 5% Native, 4% Black, 2% Asian, 2% Mixed (mostly mixed white and native)
Ancestry: Mostly German and Scandinavian. The largeish native community is mostly Ojibwe.
Other notes: Is the center of a small metro area, about the size of Fargo. Was founded to be the state capitol, so has very little history of industry. The local economy is based in the service industry and government. Itasca is a Delaware-style tax haven, so it has a lot of company headquarters, especially credit card companies.

[Sol]

I'm going to say something like Bush-Bush-Obama-Obama-Clinton-Biden--thinking Cumberland County nc as a comparison.

Name: Jefferson Davis County
State: Florida
Region: South Florida, between Miami-Dade and mainland Monroe.
Population: 33,387
Geographic Type: Mostly uninhabited wilderness, but the entire population lives in a suburban/exurban area.
Median Household Income: 40,000$
Demographics: 62% Latino (29% Cuban, 16% Central American, 13% Mexican, 1% Puerto Rican, 3% other Latino), 24% Black (10% Haitian, 9% ADOS, 5% Caribbean) 8% Anglo White, 5% Other
Demographic notes: Most Mexicans and about half of the Central American community are non-citizen agricultural workers, which is why there's an above average Mexican community for South Florida.
Economy: Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. Many residents commute to Miami or its suburban neighbors for work, usually in the service industry. Everglades tourism is a big local industry.
Other notes:
-All of the population, barring five people, live in the CDP and county seat of Kiev Orchards, Florida (and four of those people just barely live outside of the CDP). Kiev Orchards is located in the extreme Southeast tip of the county and is the final extension of the Miami to Homestead suburban corridor.
-There are no beaches in the county.

[Sol]

I'll say lightly but consistently Democratic, considering the voting patterns of larger older towns in the area. Something like Gore-Kerry-Obama-Obama-Clinton-Biden, with maybe Bush 2004 having a shot.

Name: Chutpay County

County Seat: Summit City (de jure) Genoa Park (de facto)

State: Fictional Interior West State, similar to Montana in geography and location but more populous.

Region: Eastern Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, suburbs of a mid-size metropolitan area.

Population: 395,000

Median Household Income: $60,000

Economy: Mostly service industry/bedroom community

Demographics: 82% Anglo White, 10% Latino, 5% Asian, 2% Other/Mixed, 1% Black

Demographic Notes: Relatively low citizenship rates in the Latino community, which is disproportionately employed in construction and farm labor. Most Asian-Americans are Chinese.

History: Was home to various native peoples, namely interior Salishan groups and the Kutenai. White colonization began in the 1870s and 80s with the discovery of gold in the Chelalkin [1] Valley. Gold deposits, as it turned out, were much less than promised, but the huge silver deposits in the area led to rapid population growth anyway. The city of Chenoweth, located in the foothills and in nearby Clark County, became a significant city in the area. Population growth in the upper forks of the Chelalkin River led to the creation of Chutpay [2] County in 1910. At the time, Chutpay County was fairly rural, with an economy based in ranching and farming. However, by as early as the 30s, suburban development began to nibble at the fringes of the county, and this only exploded after the war. Chenoweth is more of a Sacramento or a Spokane than a Portland, in that it never became a hippie haven.

Chutpay became a popular area for ex-service members to live, as there are some large bases nearby (though not in Chutpay County proper). It also became a center for the Chenoweth area's Mormon community, as well as home to one of the country's largest evangelical megachurches. There's a state university in the prewar suburb of Madison Heights. The last wave of exurban development in the 2000s swallowed most of the last remaining buildable land, and for the first time ever Chutpay County is built out.

[1] From Kutenai Č́čaɫálqn "Three Peaks" which refers to some mountains which are located in Chutpay and neighboring Lewis Counties.
[2] From Kutenai Č́xwtxwtpé "Confluence of several rivers"

[Sol]

Unfortunately, I think majority white electorate=republican, even in areas of the Deep South with a lot more transplants, especially considering retirees.

Name: Salish County

County Seat: Tuckerton

State: Interior West State, similar to Montana in geography and location but more populous (same as Chutpay).

Region: Eastern Foothills of the Rocky mountains, Small City/part of the Chenoweth CSA

Population: 480,000

Median Household Income: $53,000

Economy: Education, State Government, Tourism, some remnant industry

Demographics: 77% Anglo White, 10% Asian, 7% Latino, 3% Black, 1% Native, 2% Other

Demographic Notes: Highest Catholic community in the state. Large refugee community, with about 1% of the population being Somali and 1% Bosniak.

Geographic Overview:
Most of the county is the city of Tuckerton, which is home to the state capitol and the State University. The main dividing line is NW-SE along Archdale Avenue, the main street. West and North of Archdale, the city is richer, whiter, and more Asian, with a lot of state government workers due to a lot of bureaucratic offices and the state capitol. This side is next to the mountains so is also more desirable. East of Archdale is the University, as well as many of the remaining working class ex-ijndustrial neighborhoods, which are often something of a hippie "WWC" synthesis culturally. The town of University Park directly adjoins the university and is mostly a student ghetto, with its outer fringes dominated by grad students and liberal arts profs. The town of Latham, which is partially in Salish, is 2/3rds Tuckerton suburbia blended with 1/3rd Chenoweth suburbia, though the parts in Salish are more Tuckerton oriented. The rest of the county is mostly unpopulated mountains or government land.

History:
Much like Chutpay, was settled by whites during the Chelalkin gold rush. It became a big city due to silver mining in the later 19th century. To avoid over-concentrating power in the larger city of Chenoweth, the state capitol and state university were put in the county seat of Tuckerton. In the early 20th century, it became a big industrial hub due to its proximity to coal mines in the adjacent mountains, as well as a center for radical union organizing--including a big IWW presence at one point.

In the 1960s, the State University became a similar haven for radical left politics, much like Berkeley or Madison. For a while, until it was cleared in the 80s, a portion of the town of University Park was a Freetown Christiana-esque drug anarchist haven. In recent years, it has seen heavy growth, as it's a desirable place to live for yuppies and is increasingly part of a urban corridor with Chenoweth.

Probably not surprising how it votes in Generals, maybe more interesting in primaries.

[Sol]

Oh also, are you a lovecraftian mung beans?

skip

[Sol]

I think having a fairly distinct culture from the American mainstream, as well as a history of colonialism and being quite urban all suggest that Sao Miguel County is Safe D, and has been for a while. Hawai'i I think probably is a good comparison.

Name: Tryon County
State: New York
Region: West-Central NY (i.e. about as far west as Syracuse, Utica, or Binghamton)
Population: 196,202
MHI: $35,000
Economy: Services, some remnant industry, military, education, dairy farming (in more ruralish areas)
Demographics: 88% White, 6% Black, 4% Latino, 1% Asian, 1% Other.
Geography and History: Tryon County is basically a small metropolitan area around the city of Adrianople. Adrianople founded and grew as a result of the Erie Canal. Adrianople was well known as a major industrial center in the 19th and 20th century, though unions were less strong there than in other cities in the region. In the latter half of the 20th century, white flight (virtually 100% of the Black and Latino population lives in Adrianople) and de-industrialization has led to a long-term decline in population. Presently the area's economy is boosted mainly by Fort Cornell, a massive military installation. Adrianople College is a small Liberal Arts college which also boosts the area's economy.

[Sol]

Hmm, a little tricky. I reminds me a little of Lorain County or Summit County, OH. I'll hazard a Gore-Bush-Obama-Obama-Trump-Biden record.

Name: Van Buren County (consolidated city-county with the City of Dade)
State: Georgia
Region: Southwest Georgia
Geographic Type: Rural
Population: 5,000
MHI: $26,000
Economy: Agriculture, Dade College
Demographics: 68% Black, 29% white, 3% Other
Notes: The only incorporated town is the county seat of Dade, which is home to Dade College, a HBCU with around 2,400 students. Dade College has a strong academic reputation and a long-running tradition of intense activism, and is noteworthy for explicitly recruiting less affluent students thanks to a decent financial aid program.

Not a surprise how this place votes I imagine, but Dem primaries might actually be pretty interesting.

[Sol]

I think fairly vociferously Democratic, unless Republicans have bothered to tap into resentment of the new hipster gentrifiers (unlikely).

Name: Congaree County
State: South Carolina
Population: 50,000
MHI: $48,000
Economy: Agriculture, Bedroom community
Demographics: 54% white, 44% Black, 2% other
Notes: This county is a half-suburban, half-rural county in the suburbs of Columbia. The suburban areas are fairly diverse, with some middle class, racially integrated suburbs and some all white rich suburbs. The rural areas are very poor and are majority Black. There's a mostly white exurban zone in the middle.

[Sol]

My guess is that the more conservative Native vote and the more liberal White vote cancel each other out, giving a fairly firm R-leaning county which maybe voted for Clinton 2016 on account of the vote split.

Name: Lanham County
State: Texas
Region: Rio Grande Valley, north of Laredo
Population: 6,000
MHI: $21,000
Economy: Ranching, oil
Demographics: 88% Latino, 10% Anglo White, 2% Other
Notes: was home to a large polygamous Mormon sect from 2008-2013, about 1,000 strong, who later left the area.

[Sol]

Sounds like a pretty titanium D county these days, though it swung lightly to Trump this year I bet. Probably voted Clinton 2016 but would have voted Sanders 2020 if the race was competitive at that point.

Name: Dooley County
State: Deep South, Comparable to Georgia, Mississippi or Alabama
Region: Suburbs/Exurbs of a major metropolitan area (fictional city of Quinlon)
County Seat: Daviston, largest population center is the unincorporated CDP of Przedpelski
Economy: Home to Quinlon Przedpelski International Airport, the Port of Quinlon, a major Amazon distribution center, and shipping/transit logistics due to strategic location at the intersection of several interstates.
Demographics: 31% Anglo White, 30% Latino (primarily Mexicans and Central Americans), 29% Black, 9% Asian
Population: 295,000
History: Was a rural county on the mouth of the Choctaw River Estuary, with an economy reliant on agriculture. Beginning in the 1950s suburban growth began in the area, and was only accelerated by opening of the airport and by the construction of the Port. Has become significantly more diverse in the last 20 years.

[Sol]

Since Beloitmoderate didn't give a county, I'll offer one:

Name: Narragansett County
State: Rhode Island
Location: Southeast Rhode Island
Population: 115,000
Largest City: Peterboro
Demographics: 50% White Anglo (mostly Portuguese, Italian, and Irish) 40% Latino (mostly Puerto Rican and Dominican), 9% Black, 1% Other
MHI: $53,000
Economy: Historically rooted in the textile industry, shipping, and whaling. Presently not very economically vibrant, with a large number of commuters to Providence.
Other notes: Peterboro is an overwhelmingly Latino ex-industrial town, while the rest of the county is predominantly middle-class exurbia to Providence. There's a history of nasty racial tension in the community.

[Sol]

Here is my 4 Hypothetical counties from weeks ago
Casmir county Wisconsin (The most Polish county in America and all the cities/towns names except the reservation area has Polish names in it with a world record breaking building in the county seat.)
Gebirge County Missouri (A ethnic German county located between the Taum Sauk Mountains and the Ozarks with German influence architecture and with the most unusual voting pattern not just in rural Missouri but in rural non college America as well.)
Monte Nevada county Washington (Similar to the Yakima valley and a rename of the county I have posted weeks ago otherwise the same a huge Hispanic population with the highest percentage of Hispanics in a county in the West Coast even exceeding California itself. A huge agricultural industry alongside a Amazon Distribution Center.)
Mariana Rosas county Illinois (A extremely suburban Chicagoland county with a rural area to the NW side of the county this county has a Multicultural/Ethnically Religiously and racially diverse county in which each plurality of the population is White/Hispanic/Black/Asian/Pacific Islander/ and Native American making it similar to Oklahoma county in which there is a integrated suburban Indian population.)

My guess on all of these is all R except the last one.

Name: Ingham County
State: Deep South state, comparable to Alabama or Mississippi
Location: Appalachian foothills, similar geography to Alabama along the Tennessee River
Population: 12,000
Largest City: Cherokee
Demographics: 88% White, 11% Black, 1% other
Economy: Tourism, Agriculture, Energy (large dam in the area)
MHI: $30,000
Other notes: Historically unionist. Was majorly improved by the presence of the TVA, and calls to privatize it still result in backlash on the local level. Has a large hippie commune in the hills since the 60s, New Rainbow, which is known for its extremely anti-establishment, ecological and pacifist orientation. Residents of New Rainbow are about 15% of the population.

This county is intended to do something a bit odd results-wise, though I don't know if it will translate--bonus points if you can guess it.

[Sol]

Since it seems like you answered your own, here's one:

Name: Wiley County
Location: Midwest, similar location to Northern IL, IN and Southern WI, MI
Population: 400,000
Largest City: Lake Luciole (90,000)
Demographics: 84% White (mostly German, English and Scandinavian), 8% Asian (mostly Chinese, Indian, and Pakistani), 7% Latino (mostly Mexican and Central American) and 1% Black (mostly ADOS but an above average African immigrant pop.)
MHI: $80,000
Geography: Runs the gamut from inner ring suburbs of the nearby major city to outer ring exurbs. Has a sizable east-west divide, with the western suburbs being extremely rich and white while the eastern suburbs are more middle class and somewhat diverse in places.
History: Was settled early on by German Catholics with a smattering of Yankee abolitionists. Little industry, was primarily agricultural. Suburbanization started early in the inner ring streetcar suburbs in the far north of the county, around the 20s, but really picked up after WW2. Very white flight in character, and was also a center of evangelical culture.

[Sol]

Reviving this, and following Torie's suggestion!

Name: Oldenburgh City
Location: Virginia
Population: 24,000
Demographics: 70% White (mostly English ancestry), 20% Black (ADOS), 7% Asian (largely Filipino)
MHI: $48,000
Geography: Strongly split between a heavily white and extremely affluent north side, and the smaller, extremely working class and overwhelmingly Black south side. It's an old colonial-era independent city with lots of historic buildings. It's close enough to Richmond to be a desirable location for affluent commuters, and many of the homes in its historic downtown are worth millions of dollars. The north side of the city, once more rural, has seen mushrooming exurban growth with many McMansions popping up. The South Side, separated from the city by railroad tracks, has seen little investment, and the primary source of good local jobs is the state prison just over the county line.

[Sol]

The fact that the renaming referendum was successful is indicative, I think. All R until flipping in 2020 imo.

Name: San Patricio (independent city)
Location: Southwest, outer suburbs and exurbs of a San Diego-esque metro in size, demographics, and economics.
Population: 120,000
Demographics: 66% White (mostly WASPy and German in ancestry), 21% Latino (overwhelmingly Mexican-American), 11% Asian (predominantly Chinese and Filipino, with the Chinese community skewing towards Cold War-era immigrants).
Median Household Income: $70,000
Economy: Some construction and white collar services, with a smallish edge city in San Patricio Towne Center. Most residents commute, however, with many of the residents working for naval contractors, aerospace, and in research and development.
Notes: Affluent white flight suburbia which has seen quick growth, particularly from middle-class Mexican-Americans as the metro area diversifies. The city is infamous for its particularly garish faux-Tuscan McMansions, though since 2000s it's no longer the outer fringe of suburban development. Most city services have been privatized.