Rank Northeastern and Midwestern metros from most liberal to most conservative

[traininthedistance]

I was going to make a similar point that Balto shares much in common with Philly. The architecture and history follow very similar paths. I would take train as the authority, but rowhouses in parts of Queens and Brooklyn remind me of their counterparts in Balto and Philly. In my visits I find more similarities than differences.

As to the demographics, Balto was a significant some to white ethnic immigration and was the second largest port of entry after NYC. Residents of Irish ancestry make up 13% of the population in Balto. Little Italy is an important neighborhood and was the childhood home of Nancy Pelosi, the daughter of Baltimore Mayor D'Alesandro. Before the Civil War the black population of Balto was predominantly free, though there were some slaves, and today makes up the largest ethnic group as it does in Philly.

What I'm thinking of more than anything is the two-story lower-class housing like this:

 (in Philly)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Douglass_Houses_Baltimore.JPG (link 'cause the picture is huge)

...which is often found on on really tiny side streets that are much closer together than you find in NYC.  Most of Brooklyn's row home stock is three stories at least, often four; where you have two story row housing in NYC it's almost always further from the core, and has setbacks and front lawns, like so:



Note that you do get this style in Philly, too: but, again, further out from the core.  And NYC of course has a much larger prevalence of multi-story apartment buildings.  And, of course, in Boston you get triple-deckers instead.  (I was struck by the prevalence of detached three-story buildings with balconies on every floor long before I knew what it actually was.  It's a really distinctive feature of New England housing.)

I agree, also, that Baltimore does have a history of "ethnic" immigration and the lack of such is overstated.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Baltimore received much larger numbers of migrants from the South, both white and Black. Hence the "Balmer" white accent, which sounds distinctly Southern in character if a bit off: most white Baltimore residents have a good portion of Southern-stock ancestry, whether it can be traced to colonial Maryland or New Deal-era Virginia. Baltimore definitely attracted its fair share of ethnic immigrants but its numbers are small in comparison to the Rust Belt or the Northeast. Baltimore is Southern.

Of course, Oakland received little immigration up until recently and most of its working class can be traced to the Southern US but I'd never claim that it is a "Southern" city so maybe these distinctions are fairly arbitrary.

[Mr. Illini]

I'll believe it when I see it, but I'd have to believe the SUBURBS of Chicago are more GOP-friendly than the suburbs of Baltimore...

I was thinking the same thing; Chicago's suburbs are not like they were 20-30 years ago in friendliness to the GOP, but I definitely think they're a lot more friendly to the GOP than Baltimore's surrounding environs.

The Baltimore suburbs are not exactly Democratic, especially not at the federal level.  Carroll and Howard are more Republican than any of the collar counties, and my impression from a distance is that they are still kinda "Southern" in many ways, moreso than the DC suburbs..

I think you meant to say Harford.

Howard County is the most Democratic county in the Baltimore metro area; Romney at least broke 40% in Baltimore County. Last time a Republican won Howard County was in 1988; same time when the suburbs of Baltimore last went Republican. I agree that Carroll and Harford are extremely Republican on every level and way more Republican than any county in Chicagoland currently.

Compare that with Chicagoland which, until 2008, Republicans were winning every county in the metro area (save Cook and Lake, Indiana).

And are now not expected to win any of the collar counties sub McHenry and possibly DuPage. Things change.

Not to mention that Lake and Will Counties have ALWAYS been swing counties. Voting for Bush twice does not mean that they were solid GOP counties before 2008, especially since it was razor thin in 2000.

[Gass3268]

Here are the Northeastern and Midwestern Metro Areas in the Top 100 ranked from the highest Obama % to the lowest:

Madison 68.89%
Springfield 64.17%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 63.92%
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 63.74%
New York-Newark-Jersey City 63.64%
Providence-Warwick 61.53%
Cleveland-Elyria 61.46%
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 60.69%
New Haven-Milford 60.65%
Toldeo 60.30%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 60.11%
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 59.38%
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman 59.35%
Syracuse 57.55%
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 56.83%
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls 55.91%
Akron 55.84%
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton 55.80%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk 54.85%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 54.66%
Rochester 54.28%
Worcester 53.93%
Des Moines-West Des Moines 53.28%
Columbus 52.58%
St. Louis 52.49%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis 52.07%
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 50.44%
Pittsburgh 48.66%
Kansas City 47.84%
Dayton 46.17%
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson 45.43%
Harrisburg-Carlisle 45.17%
Omaha-Council Bluffs 45.17%
Grand Rapids-Wyoming 41.37%
Cincinnati 41.34%
Wichita 37.35%

[memphis]

Maryland is like New Jersey. It's dominant characteristic is not regional, but rather that it is mostly suburban. What's key to understanding both is that they are, however, substantially more racially diverse than Midwestern suburbia. Not just with black people. There are lots of people from all over the world in both states, which makes them very interesting and, of course, less Republican.

[Brittain33]

Are those numbers from 2008 or 2012? I feel like Toledo being so high is an artifact of Obama's incredible performance in NW Ohio in 2008.

[Torie]

Are those numbers from 2008 or 2012? I feel like Toledo being so high is an artifact of Obama's incredible performance in NW Ohio in 2008.

It appears that most of the Toledo metro area trended Dem in 2012.

[Brittain33]

Are those numbers from 2008 or 2012? I feel like Toledo being so high is an artifact of Obama's incredible performance in NW Ohio in 2008.

It appears that most of the Toledo metro area trended Dem in 2012.

Huh. Looks like I have to revise my sense of how Dem Toledo is.

[Linus Van Pelt]

To me one of the most surprising things about that list is that Springfield, Mass., is one of the country's 100 largest metro areas.

[Gass3268]

To me one of the most surprising things about that list is that Springfield, Mass., is one of the country's 100 largest metro areas.

It's the 86th largest.

[TJ in Oregon]

Are those numbers from 2008 or 2012? I feel like Toledo being so high is an artifact of Obama's incredible performance in NW Ohio in 2008.

It appears that most of the Toledo metro area trended Dem in 2012.

Huh. Looks like I have to revise my sense of how Dem Toledo is.

Two words: Auto Bailouts

Toledo is an auto manufacturing town and a pretty blue collar one at that. Virtually all of its upscale suburbs are quite Republican, but it doesn't have many upscale suburbs.

[Brittain33]

Two words: Auto Bailouts

Toledo is an auto manufacturing town and a pretty blue collar one at that. Virtually all of its upscale suburbs are quite Republican, but it doesn't have many upscale suburbs.

Yeah. I had mentally marked that as a 2008-only phenomenon like McCain's collapse in Michigan, but apparently it didn't recede in 2012.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I looked up metros with over 1 million people and came up with this list

Most Liberal
Washington DC
Boston
Providence
Baltimore
New York
Hartford
Detroit
Buffalo
Philadelphia
Cleveland
Columbus
St. Louis
Pittsburgh
Rochester
Tampa
Kansas City
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Milwaukee
Cincinnati
Indianapolis
Grand Rapids
Most Conservative