The Northern Idaho Panhandle

[Mr.Phips]

I have always been somewhat fascinated by the politics of this area.  It used to be a Democratic stronghold due to the mining unions in the area and as recently as 1992, voted for Bill Clinton at the Presidential level.  Even in 1988, Dukakis came very close to carrying this area.  Now it votes almost as Republican as the state as a whole.

Anybody else have any thoughts on this region?

[freepcrusher]

I have always been somewhat fascinated by the politics of this area.  It used to be a Democratic stronghold due to the mining unions in the area and as recently as 1992, voted for Bill Clinton at the Presidential level.  Even in 1988, Dukakis came very close to carrying this area.  Now it votes almost as Republican as the state as a whole.

Anybody else have any thoughts on this region?

the CDA area, if I recall, has been overrun by SoCal expats.

[All Along The Watchtower]

That area is very "redneck." It's dominated by agriculture, logging, and mining, and much of it is fairly remote and isolated, so the locals would be suspicious of outsiders (especially in light of the influx of Californians and other out-of-staters into Idaho in recent years), particularly culturally liberal, monied urban sophisticates (not always the case with people moving to Idaho, in fact many of the people who tend to move there are quite conservative, but the stereotype/perception is there). Environmentalists and such are really...disliked and resented up there, let's say.

Additionally, Northern Idaho has a relatively strong survivalist/far-right nutter contingent. If I recall correctly, some Neo-Nazi groups have found a home there. I suppose a few of the chronically unemployed or underemployed "rednecks" up there would be receptive to such groups.

[minionofmidas]

Yeah. Note which places there have tended to remain the most Democratic. *cough* there's a big uni at Moscow.

Also, other areas of Idaho (Boise, BIG time) have trended towards the Democrats. That's going to impact on "now almost as Republican as the state at large".

[Indy Texas]

Is the panhandle part of the congressional district that a Democrat won for one term in 2008?

[Del Tachi]

Perot did relatively well in Northern Idaho, and that was probably a key factor in throwing the region to Clinton in 1992. 

[Del Tachi]

Is the panhandle part of the congressional district that a Democrat won for one term in 2008?

Yes.

[Mr.Phips]

Is the panhandle part of the congressional district that a Democrat won for one term in 2008?

Yes.

Yep.  It's also a district that Kennedy won in 1960. 

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Perot did relatively well in Northern Idaho, and that was probably a key factor in throwing the region to Clinton in 1992. 

The exit polls from 1992 showed Perot taking an equal share of votes from Bush and Clinton.

[Sol]

Perot did relatively well in Northern Idaho, and that was probably a key factor in throwing the region to Clinton in 1992. 

The exit polls from 1992 showed Perot taking an equal share of votes from Bush and Clinton.

The exit polls from across the country (Or even the entire state) may not have exactly corresponded to Northern Idaho.

[Benj]

Is the panhandle part of the congressional district that a Democrat won for one term in 2008?

Yes, but that has to be taken in the context of the Republican candidate in 2008, who was dreadful and might have lost even in 2010.

[Franknburger]

That area is very "redneck." It's dominated by agriculture, logging, and mining, and much of it is fairly remote and isolated, so the locals would be suspicious of outsiders (especially in light of the influx of Californians and other out-of-staters into Idaho in recent years), particularly culturally liberal, monied urban sophisticates (not always the case with people moving to Idaho, in fact many of the people who tend to move there are quite conservative, but the stereotype/perception is there). Environmentalists and such are really...disliked and resented up there, let's say.

Fairly remote and isolated? To my knowledge, most of the panhandle's population concentrates in and around Coeur d'Alene, which is Idaho's second largest metropolitan area. Spokane WA is just accross the state line, and Interstate 90 cuts right through.

[Nichlemn]

Yeah. Note which places there have tended to remain the most Democratic. *cough* there's a big uni at Moscow.

Also, other areas of Idaho (Boise, BIG time) have trended towards the Democrats. That's going to impact on "now almost as Republican as the state at large".

That might be more meaningful if Idaho was consequently much more Democratic than it used to be, so an area could trend Republican compared to the state by standing still. But Idaho today is even more Republican than it used to be.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

It started going Republican in the '90s when all those neo-Nazis moved in.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

That area is very "redneck." It's dominated by agriculture, logging, and mining, and much of it is fairly remote and isolated, so the locals would be suspicious of outsiders (especially in light of the influx of Californians and other out-of-staters into Idaho in recent years), particularly culturally liberal, monied urban sophisticates (not always the case with people moving to Idaho, in fact many of the people who tend to move there are quite conservative, but the stereotype/perception is there). Environmentalists and such are really...disliked and resented up there, let's say.

Fairly remote and isolated? To my knowledge, most of the panhandle's population concentrates in and around Coeur d'Alene, which is Idaho's second largest metropolitan area. Spokane WA is just accross the state line, and Interstate 90 cuts right through.

Kootenai County's growth is really recent. A few decades ago Coeur d' Alene was an insignificant town that could hardly be concerned apart of the Spokane metro area (~15-20 thousand people). Now its metro area has significant overlap with Spokane's and it's sprawled out.

North Idaho's turn away from the Democratic Party isn't surprising. It lacks a working class ethos as resource extraction has ceased to be an economic driver and as unions died a quick death after the passage of right to work laws (25% unionization to 5% in the span of two decades). The SoCal-diaspora now dominates political culture in the panhandle and has managed to integrate itself with the fiercely individualist value system of the region.

Moscow is an exception to this because it is a university town. It has actually turned into a stronger bastion of liberalism over the past few decades. Towns linked to resource extraction have shifted to the right with speed: Lewiston, Kellogg, St. Mary's which suggests that even if these industries remained a major source of employment that the Democratic Party's disconnect with mining and logging would have killed its ability to compete.

It's probably important to note that the region remained a Democratic bastion at the legislative and state level up until 2000.

[LastVoter]

Sprawl, suburban Californian white flight, and decline of union towns all explain the shift. Sandpoint still voting for democrats is remarkable though.

[memphis]

I drove through on vacation once. Couer d'Alene is beautiful! Much nicer than Spokane.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Sprawl, suburban Californian white flight, and decline of union towns all explain the shift. Sandpoint still voting for democrats is remarkable though.

It really isn't, Sandpoint received a much different inflow of migrants in the 60s and 70s that dominate political culture within the city limits. Its liberal character had little to do with a unionized working class and thus it has managed to stay fairly liberal. This is evident in Nader's voting strength in Sandpoint (~10%).