Chicago 2012 Presidential Election

[Mr. Illini]

Was inspired by the mayoral election results to throw together Chicago's results from the 2012 Presidential.

In surely proud fashion, not one ward voted for Mitt Romney, and in fact only ONE ward gave Obama less than 60%, and that ward is on the far northwest side and is practically suburban territory.

The Loop and area around it were in the 60's, as were a couple other wards on the far NW side. Other than that it was 70+%, even in the rich white areas along the lake.

19/50 wards were 90+% for Obama, mostly black wards on the south and far west sides.

Sorry for the blurriness, it doesn't typically do that so dramatically when I convert it. Apologies.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Would it be possible to see the suburbs results?  Also, obviously Chicago is heavily Democratic, but every person I've met who works in the city (granted, all White men who were fairly well off) would very much fit into a moderate, pro-business Republican mindset, so how much differently do you think the results might have been without Obama (a generic D)?

[Miles]

Thanks!

On an aesthetic tip, try saving the image as a PNG (it looks like JPEG).

[Mr. Illini]

Would it be possible to see the suburbs results?  Also, obviously Chicago is heavily Democratic, but every person I've met who works in the city (granted, all White men who were fairly well off) would very much fit into a moderate, pro-business Republican mindset, so how much differently do you think the results might have been without Obama (a generic D)?

Here is the result map that I made for the Cook suburbs. I actually have an entire thread on Chicago-area maps over in Political Geography if you want to take a look at others. I did a township map for Chicagoland as a whole for the 2014 governor's race. How depressing.



In terms of your question, no ward would have voted Republican had it been Obama or not. Looking back at 2004, the 41st ward was still the only ward to go less than 60% for the Democrat, as it was in 2012. Obama certainly gave the Dem vote in the city a boost, but you have to understand that Chicago's whites are the same white urban liberals that exist in many cities. The northside is not bad off, but its wealthy whites are different than Lake Forest's. They are educated yuppie Democrats, although you're right, they aren't that liberal. They're Rahm-style; it is where he represented and it is where he ran up the margins on Tuesday.

The fact that New Trier township, hands down the wealthiest group of towns in the Midwest, went to Obama in 2012 surprised me, although I looked deeper and apparently it has been going Democrat for some years now. That's something that would be interesting to study, because those are the people you are talking about. Very wealthy, fiscally conservative types, one of the few areas to vote against the 3% surcharge on millionaires this past year, yet voting D in Presidential elections. Fiscally conservative suburbs voting Democrat is a great example of why the GOP needs to take a look at what kind of culture it is building within its party.

In my opinion it would be a stretch to say that any of the townships in Cook or any wards in the city would have voted Republican in 2012 had it not been for Obama on the ticket. The argument could be made in some of the Lake townships and certainly the DuPage townships (that county went to Obama as a whole, but is expected to go GOP in 2016). But every ward in Chicago can be expected to vote Democrat, and the Cook suburbs don't jump around all that much in Presidential elections. Rauner won a lot of those Dem townships, though, so that's possible.

[Sol]

What was the Obama percentage in the Loop? It's sort of amazing how right-wing the Loop is; I remember being stunned when you revealed it voted for Rauner.

[nclib]

What was the Obama percentage in the Loop? It's sort of amazing how right-wing the Loop is; I remember being stunned when you revealed it voted for Rauner.

Really? Where did he say that? Is there a map/data on Chicago's results in 2014--I see that thread only includes the suburbs.

[Mr. Illini]

What was the Obama percentage in the Loop? It's sort of amazing how right-wing the Loop is; I remember being stunned when you revealed it voted for Rauner.

Rauner was an anomaly. Obama's number were in the 60's in the Loop.

[Sol]

What was the Obama percentage in the Loop? It's sort of amazing how right-wing the Loop is; I remember being stunned when you revealed it voted for Rauner.

Rauner was an anomaly. Obama's number were in the 60's in the Loop.

That's still incredible though--I don't think Midtown Manhattan or Downtown LA would be anything like that.

[Mr. Illini]

What was the Obama percentage in the Loop? It's sort of amazing how right-wing the Loop is; I remember being stunned when you revealed it voted for Rauner.

Rauner was an anomaly. Obama's number were in the 60's in the Loop.

That's still incredible though--I don't think Midtown Manhattan or Downtown LA would be anything like that.

Idk, I guess it isn't to me. Rauner won a lot of areas that Republicans never win in, especially richer areas where Democrats are usually favored, which perfectly describes the Loop. New Trier township went from like 56% Obama to 60+% for Rauner, Highland Park is a reliably Democratic area that narrowly went to Quinn, etc. Richer areas trended the hardest to Rauner.

Also, in 2002, the Democrat only won Manhattan with 57% of the vote. Surely, some areas of the island must have gone to Pataki. Comparable situations, I would say.