The CBDs of many Sun Belt cities are more GOP-voting than their other urban neighborhoods. A lot of it is explained by racial demographics, but it's also the case that suits-in-a-glass-penthouse will skew more conservative than the kombucha-drinking gentrifiers who prefer more creative settings.
Austin isn't even the best place to see this. The main downtown precincts in Houston and Nashville voted for Romney!
Yes, but tbf Houston generally lacks liberal whites so the CBD not being that blue makes sense in the context of Houston
How downtown Austin votes isn't necessarily weird in itself, but it's weird in the context of Austin which is such a liberal city.
But the CBD of Austin
is more liberal in the context of similar cities. Downtown Austin is Biden +40, Downtown Nashville/Houston is "only" Biden +20!
