Republican gains in metro Milwaukee

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

But Madison is a VERY liberal city, so there's a lot of spillover effect, and probably has much to do with people from the city moving outwards and still voting the same.

[bejkuy]

Then why are the capital cities of Missouri and Oregon so much more Republican than the rest of the state?

I can't comment on Madison, but I used to live in Salem, OR.

Salem would be a very conservative town if not for state government employees.  As it stands all 3 county commisssioners are republicans and the county, dominated by salem, nearly always votes republican in national elections.

Reasons Salem is more conservative:

-no big public or private universities.  
-Much higher average church attendance than the rest of the state.  Remember, Oregon is #50 in church attendance.  This leads to a greater % of social conservatives.
-Salem is the center agriculture in Oregon.  Farmers, at least out west, tend to be pretty conservative bunch.
-There are no big union (besides government) employers in town.

These factors, I believe, make Oregon's state capitol lean republican when conventional wisdom would tell you is should be strong republican.

[Bogart]

Not sure why this would be. The city proper is very Democratic. Rural Wisconsin is usually pretty Republican. Milwaukee proper is a shrinking city, which may account for the suburbs having more to say in the metro numbers.  What really surprises me being a former Wisconsinite is how well Gore did in extreme norther Wisconsin by Lake Superior. I hadn't realized this.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Northern Wisconsin is like Northeast Minnesota, both big union areas.

[nclib]

Then why are the capital cities of Missouri and Oregon so much more Republican than the rest of the state?

The Democratic bases in those states come from Kansas City (MO), St. Louis (MO), and Portland (OR). The rest of Missouri and Oregon leans Republican.

Jefferson City and Salem are probably more Democratic than the rest of their respective states minus KC, STL, Port.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Eugene, OR is also extremely Democratic.

[bejkuy]

Then why are the capital cities of Missouri and Oregon so much more Republican than the rest of the state?

The Democratic bases in those states come from Kansas City (MO), St. Louis (MO), and Portland (OR). The rest of Missouri and Oregon leans Republican.

Jefferson City and Salem are probably more Democratic than the rest of their respective states minus KC, STL, Port.

Very True.  Take Portland and the rest of the Willamette Valley college towns (Corvallis & Eugene)  out of Oregon and you basically have another Idaho politically.

Eugene is a very democratic city because of the University of Oregon and the high numbers of union Mill (forest products) workers.  Their representative, Peter DeFazio (I lived in Eugene when he was first elected) fits the city well.  He is a moderate to liberal Democrat that is fairly pro-gun rights (for a democrat).

Interesting note- Eugene is slowing becoming less Dem.  

[MN-Troy]

Not sure why this would be. The city proper is very Democratic. Rural Wisconsin is usually pretty Republican. Milwaukee proper is a shrinking city, which may account for the suburbs having more to say in the metro numbers.  What really surprises me being a former Wisconsinite is how well Gore did in extreme norther Wisconsin by Lake Superior. I hadn't realized this.

I am not surprised by Al Gore's success around the Lake Superior region. The towns and villages in and around that area tend to have economically lower class people and therefore have the tendency to vote Democratic.