Notice how the electorate shrank and became more Democratic. #whiteflight
^^ Yup, this is the primary reason for Hamilton County's Democratic trend. The old Republican voters are still voting Republican, just many of them now live in Butler, Clermont, and Warren Counties.
Another major factor in recent elections is that Hamilton County has had a long tradition of Republican voting African Americans (not a majority, but more than say the 5% nationwide). The Obama years have put a huge dent in this and it will be interesting to see if the Obama effect is sustained or if things revert back to the way they were before.
The Cincinnati area on the whole is the only metro in the country whose white population is a mix of German Catholics and Scotch-Irish southerners. The result is is a very Republican area.
FYI, the nexus of German suburbia in metro Cinci is those blood red (non Atlas) inner suburbs on the west side of the city. Things get 80% R real fast as you head out of the Cincinnati city limits. Most importantly of all, that area is where
the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish was invented.
