Results by MSA

[Husker]

The Lincoln, NE MSA is a joke since Lincoln has no suburbs but going by its definition, Obama won 51-48 percent. I didn't calculate the Omaha MSA but I'm estimating it to be about 52-47 McCain.

[Badger]

Sacramento Obama: 55%-43%

Greater Cleveland: Obama 62%-37% (Note: this MSA alone gave Obama his victory margin in Ohio)

I don't think any Democrat has won Ohio minus Cleveland MSA since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  In fact I was surprised that even if you took Cuyahoga County, Obama would have narrowly won Ohio.  That being said, both Gore and Kerry would have probably won Ohio if you took the Cincinnati MSA out so both sort of cancel each other out.  Now true most of Western, Central, Southern Ohio, and Columbus Suburbs also tend to go Republican, however the Democrats usually win the blue collar cities in the Northeastern part (i.e. Youngstown, Warren etc.), Toledo, as well as are generally competitive in the areas along Lake Erie.

Actually I recall reading that Obama won the Columbus MSA (defined as Franklin and all contiguous counties) by 52-47, an inverse to Kerry/Bush results. Franklin County continues to switch hard Democratic, and the surrounding counties are not as overwhelmingly Democratic as in past decades. It's a good future sign for the Ohio Democratic Party as its also one of the growing areas of the state.

[CJK]

Bill Clinton won Ohio minus Cleveland MSA in 1996.

[mileslunn]

Bill Clinton won Ohio minus Cleveland MSA in 1996.

Okay, I wasn't aware of that.  I figured Ohio - Cleveland MSA would probably be similiar to Indiana in its voting patterns which voted for Dole in 1996.

[mileslunn]

Sacramento Obama: 55%-43%

Greater Cleveland: Obama 62%-37% (Note: this MSA alone gave Obama his victory margin in Ohio)

I don't think any Democrat has won Ohio minus Cleveland MSA since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  In fact I was surprised that even if you took Cuyahoga County, Obama would have narrowly won Ohio.  That being said, both Gore and Kerry would have probably won Ohio if you took the Cincinnati MSA out so both sort of cancel each other out.  Now true most of Western, Central, Southern Ohio, and Columbus Suburbs also tend to go Republican, however the Democrats usually win the blue collar cities in the Northeastern part (i.e. Youngstown, Warren etc.), Toledo, as well as are generally competitive in the areas along Lake Erie.

Actually I recall reading that Obama won the Columbus MSA (defined as Franklin and all contiguous counties) by 52-47, an inverse to Kerry/Bush results. Franklin County continues to switch hard Democratic, and the surrounding counties are not as overwhelmingly Democratic as in past decades. It's a good future sign for the Ohio Democratic Party as its also one of the growing areas of the state.

True, Obama won the Columbus MSA, but the Columbus suburbs still went for McCain albeit by smaller margins than Obama won the city proper.  The Cincinnati suburbs went heavily for McCain, over 60% thus despite losing the city proper badly, he easily won the MSA.  Cleveland suburbs on average favoured Obama although not by the massive margins he won in Cleveland proper.  McCain did win a few suburbs, although I believe far more went for Obama than McCain.

[Badger]

Sacramento Obama: 55%-43%

Greater Cleveland: Obama 62%-37% (Note: this MSA alone gave Obama his victory margin in Ohio)

I don't think any Democrat has won Ohio minus Cleveland MSA since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  In fact I was surprised that even if you took Cuyahoga County, Obama would have narrowly won Ohio.  That being said, both Gore and Kerry would have probably won Ohio if you took the Cincinnati MSA out so both sort of cancel each other out.  Now true most of Western, Central, Southern Ohio, and Columbus Suburbs also tend to go Republican, however the Democrats usually win the blue collar cities in the Northeastern part (i.e. Youngstown, Warren etc.), Toledo, as well as are generally competitive in the areas along Lake Erie.

Actually I recall reading that Obama won the Columbus MSA (defined as Franklin and all contiguous counties) by 52-47, an inverse to Kerry/Bush results. Franklin County continues to switch hard Democratic, and the surrounding counties are not as overwhelmingly Democratic as in past decades. It's a good future sign for the Ohio Democratic Party as its also one of the growing areas of the state.

True, Obama won the Columbus MSA, but the Columbus suburbs still went for McCain albeit by smaller margins than Obama won the city proper.  The Cincinnati suburbs went heavily for McCain, over 60% thus despite losing the city proper badly, he easily won the MSA.  Cleveland suburbs on average favoured Obama although not by the massive margins he won in Cleveland proper.  McCain did win a few suburbs, although I believe far more went for Obama than McCain.

In fact Obama did better in the Columbus suburbs than any Democratic presidential candidate did in modern times (outside LBJ maybe). He won a significant number of Franklin County suburbs and, as you said, reduced the traditional GOP margins in most others substantially.

[CJK]

I always thought Obama's performance in Ohio in general was very poor when you consider just how bad the state economy was. The fact that 47% still wanted the Republicans in charge after Bush + Iraq + the state economy + the meltdown + the loss of manufacturing jobs throughout the decade does not speak well of Democratic strengths in the state.

[mileslunn]

I always thought Obama's performance in Ohio in general was very poor when you consider just how bad the state economy was. The fact that 47% still wanted the Republicans in charge after Bush + Iraq + the state economy + the meltdown + the loss of manufacturing jobs throughout the decade does not speak well of Democratic strengths in the state.

Its true he didn't do as well as some might think, although I think this was a state more suited to a Hilary Clinton type Democrat as opposed to Obama one.  Also McCain campaigned quite heavily in the state in the final month while Obama did some but not quite to the extent of McCain.  Relative to Pennsylvania, his numbers were reasonable as the Republicans always perform slightly better in Ohio than Pennsylvania, although the difference in Republican performance between Ohio and Indiana was rather small as normally the Republicans do quite a bit better in Indiana.  Although Obama did campaign there a fair bit while I think most Republicans just assumed they would win the state as they always have.

[nclib]

In N.C.

Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill): Obama 59.4%-39.7%

Triad (Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point): Obama 50.2%-48.9%

Charlotte (NC part): Obama 52.9%-46.4%

Charlotte (including York, SC): Obama 51.4%-47.8%

NC outside the above metro areas: McCain 53.7%-45.3%

[Stranger in a strange land]

I always thought Obama's performance in Ohio in general was very poor when you consider just how bad the state economy was. The fact that 47% still wanted the Republicans in charge after Bush + Iraq + the state economy + the meltdown + the loss of manufacturing jobs throughout the decade does not speak well of Democratic strengths in the state.

Its true he didn't do as well as some might think, although I think this was a state more suited to a Hilary Clinton type Democrat as opposed to Obama one.  Also McCain campaigned quite heavily in the state in the final month while Obama did some but not quite to the extent of McCain.  Relative to Pennsylvania, his numbers were reasonable as the Republicans always perform slightly better in Ohio than Pennsylvania, although the difference in Republican performance between Ohio and Indiana was rather small as normally the Republicans do quite a bit better in Indiana.  Although Obama did campaign there a fair bit while I think most Republicans just assumed they would win the state as they always have.

Also, Obama is black, you see. It wasn't a major factor, but it was a factor.

[DariusNJ]

Racism seemed to be a factor in Southeast Ohio, that's for sure.

[DariusNJ]

In N.C.

Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill): Obama 59.4%-39.7%

Do you know what the 2004 vote was in the Triangle?

[nclib]

In N.C.

Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill): Obama 59.4%-39.7%

Do you know what the 2004 vote was in the Triangle?

Kerry 52.4%-47.1%

Edit: I noticed that (as of 2000) Harnett and Person are considered part of the Triangle, so in that case:

2008: Obama 58.2%-40.9%
2004: Kerry 51.3%-48.2%