Delaware has the most aesthetically pleasing election maps

[old timey villain]

Delaware has three counties and each county is more Republican than the next, going in a north to south direction. This creates really cool election maps that show a very clear transition of partisan strength. It's one of my favorite states to look at on the atlas.

2012 Presidential Election Democratic percentage


2012 Presidential Election Republican percentage




2012 Delaware Senate Race Results


Republican Percentage



2010 Senate Race Democratic Percentage



Just so very aesthetically pleasing! Plus it shows a very neat transition from urban to suburban to rural.

[tmthforu94]

It is literally the same in almost every election. I'd get bored pretty fast unless I was looking at the precinct level.

[MaxQue]

The most boring, too.

[old timey villain]

Yes, yes they are boring. But as someone with OCD I appreciate how tidy they always look

[homelycooking]

The most boring, too.

I disagree.

[old timey villain]

The most boring, too.

I disagree.

Just look at how that red tapers off!

[MaxQue]

I'm depressed than some thought than Witch had a place in Senate.

As always, good work, homely.

[Indy Texas]

Color gradients FTW!!!

[Joe Republic]

Arizona is a close second.  It isn't as neatly organized as Delaware, but the county map hasn't changed for the last four elections, and even the % shading as well for the last two.

[Benj]

Kent County isn't suburban. It's a small (capital) city county. Very few Wilmington suburbs even on the northern fringe of the county.

[Pessimistic Antineutrino]

What about West Virginia?

In all seriousness, Washington was pretty neatly organized too. The west part of the state, the Seattle  metro area and the coast are deep blue, getting lighter until it flips to red, until it is mostly solid red at the Idaho border. Of course there are a few anomalies, like Spokane and Clallam, but it is mostly a uniform gradient.

Interesting analysis of Delaware though. I didn't think it was that uniform, even down to the precincts.

[cinyc]

Kent County isn't suburban. It's a small (capital) city county. Very few Wilmington suburbs even on the northern fringe of the county.

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal bisects New Castle County and generally serves as the boundary between the suburban and more rural parts of that county.  It is about 15 miles north of the New Castle-Kent line.  While I can't exactly pinpoint the canal on homelycooking's precinct map, it appears to be near where O'Donnell started to be competitive and actually won a few New Castle County precincts.

Kent County is actually in its own metropolitan area, the Dover, Delaware MSA.  Wilmington (New Castle County) is part of Philadelphia's metropolitan area.  The Dover MSA is part of Philadelphia's larger Combined Statistical Area, though.

[jimrtex]

Kent County isn't suburban. It's a small (capital) city county. Very few Wilmington suburbs even on the northern fringe of the county.

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal bisects New Castle County and generally serves as the boundary between the suburban and more rural parts of that county.  It is about 15 miles north of the New Castle-Kent line.  While I can't exactly pinpoint the canal on homelycooking's precinct map, it appears to be near where O'Donnell started to be competitive and actually won a few New Castle County precincts.

Kent County is actually in its own metropolitan area, the Dover, Delaware MSA.  Wilmington (New Castle County) is part of Philadelphia's metropolitan area.  The Dover MSA is part of Philadelphia's larger Combined Statistical Area, though.

Much larger CSA (Philadelphia-Reading-Camden CSA).

Sussex is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What's with that precinct on the Pennsylvania border that voted for O'Donnell?

[old timey villain]

What's with that precinct on the Pennsylvania border that voted for O'Donnell?

It's home to Delaware's only witch community

[cinyc]

Much larger CSA (Philadelphia-Reading-Camden CSA).

Sussex is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area.

Sussex's inclusion in the Salisbury MSA is a relatively new development.  Last decade, Sussex County was part of one of the largest micropolitan areas in the country, named after the Sussex County town of Seaford, IIRC.  It wasn't even part of Salisbury's larger CSA, which only included counties in Maryland.

[homelycooking]

What's with that precinct on the Pennsylvania border that voted for O'Donnell?

That's Yorklyn, I think. Wealthy commuter suburb, half an hour from Wilmington. Charming houses, golf courses, horse farms, etc.

[HoosierPoliticalJunkie]

The most boring, too.

I disagree.

IMO, most boring map for 2012  is probably Oklahoma, West Virginia, Utah, Rhode Island, Vermont, or Massachusetts........anything with all the counties voting 1 party is more boring than Delaware. 

[soniquemd21921]

During the FDR, Truman and Eisenhower eras New Castle County was obviously much more Republican then it is now (Landon got 45% of the vote in '36, and Dewey got almost 50% in '48). I would imagine it had a similar voting pattern to nearly every major urban county in that era: Democratic city (Wilmington), Republican suburbs and rural areas.

I would imagine the townships along the Pennsylvania border were naturally the most Republican due to being bordered by Chester and Delaware.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

From the maps I've seen of Delaware in the 60s-80s, the Republicans were often strongest in New Castle County.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

How about Hawaii? Only twice have their counties not all voted the same. They both had Honolulu county being the only county to vote for the winner. Strangely enough they voted opposite ways in those two elections (1960 for JFK and 1980 for Reagan).