Gore/McCain counties & Bush/Kerry/McCain counties

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No real surprises would have expected the bulk to come from TN and AR.

What's with the NY and NJ counties?

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Bush won the Gore/McCain NY and NJ counties in 2004.

Might it be population loss in those counties that changed them over the last decade?

I am not too familiar with NY politics despite having lived there for a short while.

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Bush won the Gore/McCain NY and NJ counties in 2004.

Might it be population loss in those counties that changed them over the last decade?

I am not too familiar with NY politics despite having lived there for a short while.

That's definitely not the case for Richmond County, NY, which alone has a growing population larger than many small cities. It's voted Republican in every election since 1944 except 1964, 1996, and 2000.

Why 2000 though? I know Gore did extremely well in NY but still...

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Why 2000 though? I know Gore did extremely well in NY but still...

Gun control may have resonated with voters in these NY/NJ counties.  Most basically I would posit that Bill Clinton was just extremely popular in the Northeast so Al Gore was quite a good candidate there in 2000.

Any ideas on these KY counties that swung against Gore, back to Kerry, and then right back to the GOP?  They are all close to Elliott county, which if you will notice is by itself in voting for Gore but surrounded by like minded counties in voting for Kerry and Obama.  Really strange.

Similarly, I'd put my chips toward gun control. Kerry didn't emphasize gun control nearly as much as Gore tried to.