In the big cities, who votes Republican?

[All Along The Watchtower]

Seriously, even though Obama got over 80 percent in cities like Chicago and LA, that still leaves around 10-15 percent who voted Republican.

I'm wondering, who votes Republican in a city surrounded by liberal Democrats? Some of the wealthy, perhaps, but a lot of them vote Democratic.

[Vepres]

Seriously, even though Obama got over 80 percent in cities like Chicago and LA, that still leaves around 10-15 percent who voted Republican.

I'm wondering, who votes Republican in a city surrounded by liberal Democrats? Some of the wealthy, perhaps, but a lot of them vote Democratic.

Probably because they're surrounded by Democrats (makes sense if you think about it ).

[Ebowed]

I'm wondering, who votes Republican in a city surrounded by liberal Democrats?

The mentally deranged.

[Conservative frontier]

U.S. Military personal who are stationed there, the olds, moderates republicans, rebels, smart people.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Depends on the city. Also depends, of course, on how you define the city.

[useful idiot]

Military, police possibly, evangelicals, small business owners, and older people, although I think a large portion is made up of people from conservative parts of the country who have moved there for work...

[Sam Spade]

Well, in NYC, to really overgeneralize...

In black areas - no one.  Really.  Blacks typically talk a whole lot less politics than you might think, and tend to view whites as one whole group, regardless of whether whites are liberal or conservative.

In Hispanic areas - it's usually the religious ones and then usually the Protestant ones (few and far between unlike down South).  Of course, they're mostly Ricans, so that means Republicans are rare.

In Asian areas - the Chinese are Democratic and insular.  Oh, and they're insanely cheap.  Don't know their community well - I don't speak Chinese though.  Yes, there are other Asian groups - I don't really care about them.

In white, non-ethnic/non-conservative Jew areas (Yuppie/hippie land = my world), they're the ones who don't talk when someone proceeds to espouse to them the wonders of the progressive agenda, which they usually do off the cuff without even asking.

In white, ethnic/conservative areas, they aren't the minority.  Well, not at the national level - local level, yes.

[memphis]

White people, same as everywhere else. Just fewer of them.

[Alcon]

White people, same as everywhere else. Just fewer of them.

Nowadays I think there may be a few cities (San Francisco and Seattle) where a minority group (Asians, mostly because the GOP can get a solid minority of Vietnamese) probably votes more Republican than whites.  But whites still obviously outnumber them.

I do think this is the best answer, though.  I don't think that Republican-voting whites in cities are super-unusual.  I think they tend to be like Republican-voting whites in the suburbs, at least no less than urban Democrats are like suburban Democrats.  I just think that Republican whites belong to sociocultural groups that are much, much less likely to live in urban areas.  That doesn't mean it never happens, especially because even in most cities, most votes are cast in fairly suburban neighborhoods.

The fact is, most people's day-by-day lives are just not that influenced by politics.  If anything, it surprises me that urban whites are uniformly Democratic to the extent they are.

[Bo]

Military people, Evangelicals, seniors, and wealthy people (not all of whom vote Democratic--the GOP economic policy favors them after all).

[Torie]

White people, same as everywhere else. Just fewer of them.

Nowadays I think there may be a few cities (San Francisco and Seattle) where a minority group (Asians, mostly because the GOP can get a solid minority of Vietnamese) probably votes more Republican than whites.  But whites still obviously outnumber them.

I do think this is the best answer, though.  I don't think that Republican-voting whites in cities are super-unusual.  I think they tend to be like Republican-voting whites in the suburbs, at least no less than urban Democrats are like suburban Democrats.  I just think that Republican whites belong to sociocultural groups that are much, much less likely to live in urban areas.  That doesn't mean it never happens, especially because even in most cities, most votes are cast in fairly suburban neighborhoods.

The fact is, most people's day-by-day lives are just not that influenced by politics.  If anything, it surprises me that urban whites are uniformly Democratic to the extent they are.

Alcon, I largely agree with what you said, but think about some other factors: life cycle (parents with kids of some means are averse to living in cities), interests (ballet or hunting?), sexuality, sense of adventure, and tolerance to change and diversity, degree of interest in abstract thinking, e.g. intellectualism and desire to be with the same for mental stimulation, and so on.

In short, I would love living in the midst of all the big city action myself, and would absent compelling constraints, that I am busy sluffing off; very few with my preferences however are GOP these days, even in my economic class. That is a big change from my youth, and even more from before that, but that is the way it is.

[Alcon]

Alcon, I largely agree with what you said, but think about some other factors: life cycle (parents with kids of some means are averse to living in cities), interests (ballet or hunting?), sexuality, sense of adventure, and tolerance to change and diversity, degree of interest in abstract thinking, e.g. intellectualism and desire to be same for mental stimulation, and so on.

In short, I would love living in the midst of all the big city action myself, and would absent compelling constraints, that I am busy sluffing off; very few with my preferences however are GOP these days, even in my economic class. That is a big change from my youth, and from before that, but that is the way it is.

Absolutely, I think those things explain a lot.  It just surprises me how powerful they've become versus a few decades ago.  There are intensely Democratic areas of Seattle -- to the order of 95% -- where the most culturally challenging stimuli is having to life across from gay retirees renovating their mock-Victorian houses.  There are working-class areas that offer a lot more daily moral challenge to a social conservative than that, even if we assume that social conservative doesn't appreciate an occasional strip club outing.  I guess you could argue that nobody likes living in those areas, and would move to a more staid suburb if they could.  Maybe true.  But, enough to make the "educated urbanite" demographic 85%+ Democratic or whatever it is, and 95%+ in neighborhoods where counterculture is more of a force?  My cohort is just much more incredibly Dem lopsided than I'd think its socio-cultural preferences would seem to dictate.  I mean, I'd think that GOPers who are into that experience wouldn't be outnumbered by Dems by quite as much as 10:1.

[opebo]

In black areas - no one.  Really.  Blacks typically talk a whole lot less politics than you might think, and tend to view whites as one whole group, regardless of whether whites are liberal or conservative.

Pretty accurate way to view them, really.

In white, ethnic/conservative areas, they aren't the minority.  Well, not at the national level - local level, yes.

You mean like Staten Island and the more intensely racist parts of Brooklyn, etc.?

[they don't love you like i love you]

I had some experience with this in when I doorknocked for the DFL in 2008, though it was GOTV so we were specifically targeting Democrats only and had houses marked on the plan to avoid that were Republicans. Not a lot of them of course, but they were there. This was in an semi-suburban part of NE Minneapolis granted.

Areas in Minneapolis that have a noticeable number of Republicans include:

-An area around a fundamentalist university (enough said).
-An area in a wealthy neighborhood near a country club.
-The U of M dorms. Yep, they're one of the most Republican parts of the state. Not surprising if you think about it though, as liberal as a school as that is, the dorms are going to have a strong population of rich College Republicans from the suburbs. The off-campus housing though is as Democratic as the city in general.
-NE Minneapolis, a semi-suburban area with a lot of ethnics. So kind of a less extreme version of the infamous NE Philly. Ward 1, the most northeast in the city, voted around 25% for McCain, that sounds pathetic, but having 1 in every 4 voter for him is a lot better to most areas of the city. Some of these are probably just your average middle class family Republicans, to some racist ethnics and law and order types, with some very religious thrown in the mix. I remember my doorknocking partner had a conversation with some younger woman who was "undecided" but did talk about wishing to vote for a candidate who best represented Christian values and the like. She clearly wasn't a Christian Coalition type, but if she voted Republican she's a good example of the type who are willing to vote Republican in the cities. Actually the Republican candidate in the State House district just south of me also fits, from her site she was basically a liberal on everything except abortion which she was militantly against (she was also a younger lady, around my age.)

The expensive downtown loft areas tend to be more Republican than my cheaper neighborhood, though both tend toward hipsters and the like, I suspect the downtown areas attract people who are stereotypically latte liberal but still vote Republican based on how much money they make. Please note these people are a big minority regardless, but they're clearly there. In the hyper-Democratic areas like where I live, it's probably poors who are just very religious or the type of religious voters I covered above, people who vote on it but aren't judgemental "BURN THE CITY OF SIN!" types who specifically avoid the city. There actually are people who think homosexuality is a sin yet don't believe in executing gays, don't freak out and hold prayer circles whenever gay marriage is legalized somewhere, and don't mind living in a city that gives recognition to unmarried couples living together who apply as "domestic partnerships", including homosexual couples (Two other cites in Minnesota do this too, St. Paul and Duluth.)

The DFL has some software that I've had access to at times which allows you to look up a score as to how partisan in either direction a registered voter is they use for phonebanking and the like based on their info an what they've learned. I looked up my apartment and was amused at how everyone was listed as Strong DFL or not assigned a score, no Republicans. My apartment could've voted 100% Obama, but remember that it only has about 25 people in it and is in an 89% Obama precinct. There's a tech school in the area, so they may have some of the McCain voters, a few straggling College Republicans. BTW I found sites for the GOP in all but one State Senate seat in Minneapolis (which happens to be my seat ), and while they aren't impressive in organization, (some are barely more than blogs), they're there.

Oh and if the 2008 caucus is any indication, a good chunk of Republicans were just your stereotypical Ron Paul nerds. Doubt they're still voting Republican though.

[Lunar]

Illiterate poors who pull the wrong lever

[Alcon]

-The U of M dorms. Yep, they're one of the most Republican parts of the state. Not surprising if you think about it though, as liberal as a school as that is, the dorms are going to have a strong population of rich College Republicans from the suburbs. The off-campus housing though is as Democratic as the city in general.

Never noticed this at state universities before.  Frat Rows, maybe, but even they're Democratic.  Is this a U of M-unique phenomenon?

[they don't love you like i love you]

Look at it this way, Minneapolis voted 81.15% for Obama, anything below that is below the average, and as Democratic as Massachusetts and Rhode Island is well below that. The main dorms precinct voted 69.54%-28.31% for Obama. In 2004 it was 62.45%-35.57% for Kerry with the city voting 77.64% for Kerry.

[Copperhead]

Military People who are stationed there, the Police, and some wealthy people (although many, if not most vote Democrat).

[phk]

Law and order types, Orthodox Jews, Defense Investment Bankers, Small Business Owners, Police, Evangelicals, and me...

[Alcon]

Look at it this way, Minneapolis voted 81.15% for Obama, anything below that is below the average, and as Democratic as Massachusetts and Rhode Island is well below that. The main dorms precinct voted 69.54%-28.31% for Obama. In 2004 it was 62.45%-35.57% for Kerry with the city voting 77.64% for Kerry.

That's interesting.  State universities tend to be less liberal than some liberal arts universities, but <70 is a weak performance for a dorm precinct.  Fraternity house precincts look more like that, sure it wasn't one?  62-36 Kerry is very weak for a state university precinct in a Democratic area.

[DariusNJ]

Do police really tend to be a Republican voting block? I always thought of them as a quintessential swing group.

But yeah, people have touched on the answers here. Wealthy whites, military people, mixed in with a few minorities who vote Republican.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Look at it this way, Minneapolis voted 81.15% for Obama, anything below that is below the average, and as Democratic as Massachusetts and Rhode Island is well below that. The main dorms precinct voted 69.54%-28.31% for Obama. In 2004 it was 62.45%-35.57% for Kerry with the city voting 77.64% for Kerry.

That's interesting.  State universities tend to be less liberal than some liberal arts universities, but <70 is a weak performance for a dorm precinct.  Fraternity house precincts look more like that, sure it wasn't one?  62-36 Kerry is very weak for a state university precinct in a Democratic area.

It's a definite dorm precinct: http://sd65dfl.org/finder/zips/precincts/maps/Hennepin/MINNEAPOLIS%20W-2%20P-11.pdf

The box formed by Fulton, Delaware, Ontario and Oak is a bunch of dorms.

There are some dorms in this one too, but it's about half the size, and voted 72.52%-24.36% for Obama, significantly below the city numbers: http://sd65dfl.org/finder/zips/precincts/maps/Hennepin/MINNEAPOLIS%20W-2%20P-04.pdf

[TeePee4Prez]

Philadelphia I can say the wealthy white areas in Center City are actually the most liberal in the city even compared to the black and Latino sections.  The latter 2 will vote heavily Democratic, but are surely more conservative especially on gay marriage and are more religious.  I will also say Hillary did quite well in the Latino areas of North Philly during the 2008 primary. 

It's really quite simple- ethnic Catholic whites and Orthodox Jews in places like Northeast and South Philly.  Actually BRTD, I'd consider the white parts of South Philly as FAR more conservative than Northeast Philly.  There are people down there that would make Keystone Phil look like a bleeding heart liberal, even some who are Democratic on paper.  I'm not kidding.  Union membership is the only thing that kept the 26th Ward at 52 McCain to 46 Obama.  It would have been a McCain rout there sans the unions.  Northeast Philly I'd say is a bit less traditional, conservative and dare I say less racist and it also has a larger Reform Jewish and Irish population hence more Democratic, but still more conservative than downtown.  I also find Catholic voters a little more secular here and more likely to disagree with the Catholic Church's 'traditional values' than South Philly.     

[they don't love you like i love you]

All wards in Minneapolis for the record:

Ward Obama McCain Other

Ward 1 75.45% 21.73% 2.82%

Ward 2 80.33% 17.11% 2.56%

Ward 3 80.42% 16.86% 2.72%

Ward 4 80.11% 17.97% 1.91%

Ward 5 90.97% 7.81% 1.22%

Ward 6 89.34% 8.77% 1.90%

Ward 7 77.06% 21.11% 1.82%

Ward 8 88.07% 10.04% 1.89%

Ward 9 84.61% 13.23% 2.16%

Ward 10 84.13% 13.54% 2.34%

Ward 11 77.25% 21.03% 1.72%

Ward 12 77.26% 20.54% 2.20%

Ward 13 78.24% 20.41% 1.36%

And a map:

[TeePee4Prez]

All wards in Minneapolis for the record:

Ward Obama McCain Other

Ward 1 75.45% 21.73% 2.82%

Ward 2 80.33% 17.11% 2.56%

Ward 3 80.42% 16.86% 2.72%

Ward 4 80.11% 17.97% 1.91%

Ward 5 90.97% 7.81% 1.22%

Ward 6 89.34% 8.77% 1.90%

Ward 7 77.06% 21.11% 1.82%

Ward 8 88.07% 10.04% 1.89%

Ward 9 84.61% 13.23% 2.16%

Ward 10 84.13% 13.54% 2.34%

Ward 11 77.25% 21.03% 1.72%

Ward 12 77.26% 20.54% 2.20%

Ward 13 78.24% 20.41% 1.36%

And a map:

WOW.  None even went 25% for McCain.  Amazing.  Philly actually had one ward, the 26th vote for McCain with a few as close calls such as the 64th where IIRC it was 55-45 Obama.  And that's a majority GOP Ward by registration.  Again, I feel the NE is more ideologically aligned than South Philly in that respect because South has heavy union membership yet more conservative.