Socially liberal rural areas

[RRB]

Based on voting records, the Upper Penninsula of MI is very Dem.  There was a brief period when gun issues took some Democrat votes, but things appear to be heading back toward the Democrats.  2006 saw Granholm winning every county.

Northern WI and MN are very Dem too.  The entire lake Superior area.

It must be mentioned that saying that these areas "socially" liberal may be a streach.  A little more to do with labor and poverty.  These people see republicans as elite high brows who don't relate to their way of life.  Or, at least that's what a Yupper once told me.

I live in an rural area in central MI where if it were not for gerrymandering, we would have a single party Dem representation.  Lots of roughnecks in big trucks with dead dear in the back that still sport Kerry and Granholm bumper stickers.

[RRB]

When one looks at a map showing that Bush won most of the counties in the UP, one has to remember that the counties where Gore/Kerry won are where most of the people live.  The Bush counties often had not much more than 1,000 people voting, and it was so close that one family made the difference between red and blue on the national county map.  I remember seeing once that even one populated county (Delta) was won by Bush by not many more people than could fit at you dinner table.  Now that's close.