mecklenburg county nc

[WalterMitty]

goes from +1.7% over the national gop % of 2 party vote in 2000 to -9.9% in 2012.

will its trend keep nc a swing state into the near future?

[Sol]

goes from +1.7% over the national gop % of 2 party vote in 2000 to -9.9% in 2012.

will its trend keep nc a swing state into the near future?

Mecklenburg has become Democratic because of the growth of Charlotte. The suburbs are pretty blue though, so some of that counterbalances.

NC's Democratic trend is also the side effect of growth in the Research Triangle. Add Charlotte and the Triangle to Dixiecrats and African-Americans, and you have a state that's getting swingier.

[nclib]

As a North Carolinian who hasn't spent a huge amount of time in Charlotte, the rhetoric I've heard about it has generally been very conservative. Though the voting results haven't supported that.

Dixiecrats and African-Americans may explain some of that, but there must be something more at work here. The urban/rural divide may explain part of this.

[Benj]

As a North Carolinian who hasn't spent a huge amount of time in Charlotte, the rhetoric I've heard about it has generally been very conservative. Though the voting results haven't supported that.

Dixiecrats and African-Americans may explain some of that, but there must be something more at work here. The urban/rural divide may explain part of this.

Hard to call Charlotte conservative. Mecklenburg County quite strongly anti-Amendment 1, with lots of crossover from McCain/Romney voters.

[Vern]

Guilford County has had a bigger swing. It was +4ish in 2000 and this year it was - 14ish

[BaldEagle1991]

As a North Carolinian who hasn't spent a huge amount of time in Charlotte, the rhetoric I've heard about it has generally been very conservative. Though the voting results haven't supported that.

Dixiecrats and African-Americans may explain some of that, but there must be something more at work here. The urban/rural divide may explain part of this.

Hard to call Charlotte conservative. Mecklenburg County quite strongly anti-Amendment 1, with lots of crossover from McCain/Romney voters.

A lot of it had to do with Libertarianism than Liberalism in my opinion.

[WalterMitty]

Guilford County has had a bigger swing. It was +4ish in 2000 and this year it was - 14ish

durham and orange counties have also trended hard democrat.  granted both of these counties have always been democratic...but now democrats are winning by larger margins there and the population has boomed in both counties in the last couple of decades.

[memphis]

The suburban counties are booming. That may offer a clue. In particular, it's nice that so many Republicans have moved out to suburban York County, SC. Makes NC's 15 Electoral votes a little easier for us to get. Ditto for Boone County, KY, outside of Cincinnati. Either of these could easily sway a presidential election in the next decade or two. Similarly, a great many Republicans here in my hometown have fled to Desoto County, MS. Unfortunately, TN remains a GOP stronghold, even as my hometown grows ever more Democratic.

[Vern]

Guilford County has had a bigger swing. It was +4ish in 2000 and this year it was - 14ish

durham and orange counties have also trended hard democrat.  granted both of these counties have always been democratic...but now democrats are winning by larger margins there and the population has boomed in both counties in the last couple of decades.

Yes, today's North Carolina is very different from the North Carolina of yester-years