Connecticut was more Republican than New Jersey for the first time since 1976

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

I loved, loved, loved when I saw this.  NJ and CT are actually extremely similar states. 

-largely suburban
-a couple medium-sized, albeit run-down, cities
-populations that identify more with two cities from other states (NJ: New York and Philadelphia, CT: New York and Boston)
-pretty diverse populations (Non-Hispanic whites: 77% in CT, 69% in NJ)
-some very wealthy shore areas (Gold Coast in CT, Ocean County in NJ)

CT probably always had the edge on us when it came to vote share for the more liberal of the two parties for a couple of reasons.

1. NJ has SOME rural-ish areas.  CT really doesn't have any. 
2. CT is just a bit more "northern", geographically and culturally.
3. CT doesn't really have anything like Northwest Jersey.   

From now on, though, the states will probably vote very similarly.  NJ has a bit more of a diverse population to offset the Confederate sympathizers and NASCAR dads in the Pine Barrens and scattered around other parts of South Jersey.  Connecticut is a pretty static state.  New Jersey is losing white population to those emigrating south for warmer weather, and the fact that immigrants still tend to come to Jersey because, in all honestly, you CAN find a job here. 

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

I loved, loved, loved when I saw this.  NJ and CT are actually extremely similar states. 

-largely suburban
-a couple medium-sized, albeit run-down, cities
-populations that identify more with two cities from other states (NJ: New York and Philadelphia, CT: New York and Boston)
-pretty diverse populations (Non-Hispanic whites: 77% in CT, 69% in NJ)
-some very wealthy shore areas (Gold Coast in CT, Ocean County in NJ)

CT probably always had the edge on us when it came to vote share for the more liberal of the two parties for a couple of reasons.

1. NJ has SOME rural-ish areas.  CT really doesn't have any. 
2. CT is just a bit more "northern", geographically and culturally.
3. CT doesn't really have anything like Northwest Jersey.   

From now on, though, the states will probably vote very similarly.  NJ has a bit more of a diverse population to offset the Confederate sympathizers and NASCAR dads in the Pine Barrens and scattered around other parts of South Jersey.  Connecticut is a pretty static state.  New Jersey is losing white population to those emigrating south for warmer weather, and the fact that immigrants still tend to come to Jersey because, in all honestly, you CAN find a job here. 

Glad the thread interested you!

The part in bold is what I found interesting. I always assumed that pretty much all of CT was tied to NYC but apparently that isn't the case. I have an aunt (by marriage) who grew up in eastern Connecticut. She's a big sports fan and she's always rooted for Boston teams like the Red Sox and the Patriots. She grew up going into Boston a lot but the first time she ever visited New York was when she was an adult, after she had moved away from Connecticut. So since that area of the state identifies more with New England then it would make sense that whites would vote more like they do in New England than the mid Atlantic.

Also, I had no idea that Jersey had any areas that were culturally southern. The Pine Barrens sounds kind of like the Florida panhandle- Largely white, close to the ocean, full of pine trees and lots of nascar fans.

There really isn't any single area in Jersey that is majority "culturally Southern".  It's just that in South Jersey you will find plenty of those types the more inland you go.  In my own town, there is a string of houses along Rancocas Creek that display Confederate flags.  That's in no way the majority, but you will run into it.  I honestly wish we could just ship 'em over to Delaware... they need to grow their population anyway. 

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

This is interesting but it was due to the hurricane. New Jersey would've been 55-44 for Obama without such an anomaly.

fixed