Which German areas 'around here' are you referring to, Bandit? If true, it would be an interesting exception to the rule.
The counties with Cincinnati and Louisville just keep trending to the Democrats. And Campbell and Kenton counties really didn't trend to the GOP (compared to the country as a whole).
Just out of curiosity - are Northern Kentucky ancestral Germans mostly Catholic or Protestant (Lutheran)? It might be that the German confessional divide (Catholics-> CDU, Protestants-> SPD/ FDP) is being continued in the USA ...
Otherwise - it seems Campbell and Kenton counties are rather suburban than rural, and as such more exposed to migration, as well as to a different political micro-climate.
This might be key...hard to develop long-lasting social conservatism when people are more transient.
