Harris County, TX - Presidential results precinct map link

[BaldEagle1991]

http://gregsopinion.com/maps/2012G_President.html

I already made some comments about what I thought about it in another thread, just wondering what you thought was surprising here in Houston.

[BaldEagle1991]

what's with the democratic pocket in far western Harris county?

Lots of middle-class Blacks and Hispanics there. This is pretty dangerous for the TX GOP if they want to get minorities. Even the middle class, hard working minorities in Texas vote Democratic.  

I didn't realize that Houston's downtown voted GOP. Why is that? Also what is the area west of Rice/Downtown like? It seems quite Republican, and I know it's Houston, but what makes this urban area Republican?

As for Downtown Houston, it's mostly because of those oil tycoon 1%ers living in Downtown.

Midtown and The Heights are also very White and they vote Democratic, so it's not only Montrose. Keep in mind, this is Houston, it's an urban area culturally distinct from the rest of Texas (it's more like Chicago or Detroit culturally). The white Evangelical suburbs are what's keeping Harris a swing county.

[BaldEagle1991]

LOL at the idea of a bunch of oil company employees deciding to save oil and live next to where they work. Yeah, usually downtown areas vote Democrat.

It's not about saving oil, it's about saving time.  If you were a lawyer billing $200/hr, shaving an hour off your commute each day would be worth an extra $50K/yr.

Yeah true, plus you're less likely to be late for work with that method.

[BaldEagle1991]

LOL at the idea of a bunch of oil company employees deciding to save oil and live next to where they work. Yeah, usually downtown areas vote Democrat.

It's not about saving oil, it's about saving time.  If you were a lawyer billing $200/hr, shaving an hour off your commute each day would be worth an extra $50K/yr.

Obviously I know that's the only criteria, but I couldn't resist. It's still weird to imagine a downtown area that votes Republican.

To be fair, it's pretty close if you click on the results. It voted for Kerry in 04 and Obama in 08 I can guarantee you that.

[BaldEagle1991]

I didn't realize that Houston's downtown voted GOP. Why is that? Also what is the area west of Rice/Downtown like? It seems quite Republican, and I know it's Houston, but what makes this urban area Republican?

Actually a broad explanation of the trends would be great!

The little red dot in the heart of downtown is the "One Percent" lofts and highrises.

The red cluster from Beltway 8 to the West Loop, Bunker Hill Village and Bellaire is the Country Club Republicans.

The blue area where Baytown is in the eastern part of the county is a working class Hispanic neighborhood. A lot of those people work at the chemical plants there.

Deer Park is a more middle-class Hispanic white neighborhood. A lot of Protestants. That explains the Republican wins there.

La Porte is working-class, conservative whites and a growing Hispanic population.

Atascocita in the northeast is a middle class suburb with lots of golf courses.

Tomball and Cypress are fundie exurbs with lots of minivan-driving True Believers.

Fixed. Deer Park, TX is around 85% white.

[BaldEagle1991]

Yeah. And plus, most Hispanics in the Houston area are still Catholic despite the sizable Protestant Hispanic population in Texas.

[BaldEagle1991]

The "White Flight havens" on Houston's periphery have always creeped me out. I tend to think if you want to have 90%+ of your neighbors be non-Hispanic whites, you need to find somewhere other than Houston to live (Utah or Minnesota, perhaps). I'm occasionally in Cypress visiting family friends who are a Santorum-Palin GOP's wet dream: wife never attended college, they go to an evangelical church twice a week, husband collects bumper stickers that are the Right's equivalent of snark ("Somewhere in Kenya, a village is missing its idiot"). And the cookie cutter houses around the cul de sac are full of cookie cutter neighbors; an F-150 and an Expedition in every driveway (preferably with a Browning deer or Semper Fi sticker) and Fox News on every plasma TV.

They creep me out too. I grew up in Pearland though, it's a mixture of a middle class minority and white-flight haven (odd combination but surprisingly there's peace), so I've seen what you've been through to some extent.

 

That's very interesting. It seems rather Republican for such a large coty.

It's because of the "White Flight Havens" Ind TX was talking about, remove those and Harris would be no different from Dallas or Travis in results.

[BaldEagle1991]

Hey! I live in Harris County. YAY!

Obama won it though.

[BaldEagle1991]

I would really like to see the Texas Democrats find more Kathleen Sebelius types who can appeal to suburban Republicans - probably not many in the area we're discussing but more in the inner suburbs where the KBH-type Republicans are.

I think we have a few but they are too scared to run.