Municipality and precinct-level data for NJ?

[Benj]

I definitely saw the data back in December or so. Not sure where. I'll see if I can dig it up.

[Benj]

Ive called em they said it will be up this week but thats slow. Hudson, Bergen, Morris, Camden and Somerset have theirs up.

Hmm... Maybe I only saw the data for one county or something. Thanks for calling!

[Benj]

Nutley swung to Obama this time?  Nice.

Clear move to Obama in all the white lower-middle class/Italian towns in that area. Lyndhurst, North Arlington, Nutley, Carlstadt, Hasbrouck Heights, etc. all went McCain -> Obama.

[Benj]

Nutley swung to Obama this time?  Nice.

Clear move to Obama in all the white lower-middle class/Italian towns in that area. Lyndhurst, North Arlington, Nutley, Carlstadt, Hasbrouck Heights, etc. all went McCain -> Obama.

Dis those whites that you mention voted for Obama or was it hispanics there?

Not that many Hispanics in any of those towns. Some, but not that many (10-18%, depending on the town). I mean, I'm sure they made the difference between voting for Obama or Romney in some places since the margins were very small, but Hispanics are not a major political force in that area. Yet, anyway.

[Benj]

Nutley swung to Obama this time?  Nice.

Clear move to Obama in all the white lower-middle class/Italian towns in that area. Lyndhurst, North Arlington, Nutley, Carlstadt, Hasbrouck Heights, etc. all went McCain -> Obama.

Nutley is definitely a notch or two richer than "lower middle-class".  Heck, that whole area is probably just straight-up middle class by the standards of the country at large, and Nutley is definitely the wealthiest of all those towns.

I do wonder to what extent the Hispanic percentage there has increased in the past several years; they have historically been very white but that may be changing.

Well, it's a class issue more than an income issue, but you get the point. Hasbrouck Heights is also pretty wealthy. Regardless, the area is clearly different in kind from other heavily white areas like northern Bergen/Passaic or far western Essex (which, among other things, are more monolithic in their wealth).

Also, while increases in the Hispanic population could explain things, all of these towns trended Republican in 2008. Some, like North Arlington, even swung towards McCain. It seems unlikely that the Hispanic population controlled trends in 2012 but not in 2008.