States where Obama beat LBJ

[ag]

counties where the last time D got more than in 2008 was in 1900 (see comment above):

Blaine, ID and Pitkin, CO

[ag]

counties where the last time higher than 2008 was in 1912 (see comment above):

Hidalgo, TX and City of Petersburg VA

[ag]

the last time higher than 2008 was in 1916 (see comment above):

4 counties in CO (La Plata, Larimer, Routt, Summit)

[ag]

the last time higher than 2008 was in 1932 (some states still missing at future dates, such as 1936, but things are nearly complete from this point on):

2 counties in CA (Imperial, Lake)
3 counties in IA (Allamakee, Fayette, Winneshiek)
5 counties in IL (Bureau, Grundy, McDonough, Putnam, Stark)
1 county in MN (Houston)
1 county in MO (Gasconade - and Obama only got 37% there!)
3 counties in ND (Benson, Ransom, Rolette)
4 counties in SD (Clay, Corson, Dewey, Ziebach)
2 counties in UT (Grand, Summit)
5 counties in WI (Door, Marquette, Vernon, Waupaca, Waushara)
1 county in WY (Teton)

[ag]

the last time higher than 2008 was in 1936 (see comment above)

1 county in AZ (Santa Cruz)
4 counties in CA (Contra Costa, Mono, Orange!, Santa Barbara)
1 county in CO (Arapahoe)
1 county in FL (Osceola)
1 county in IN (Hamilton)
1 county in MD (Howard)
3 counties in MT (Glacier, Missoula, Roosevelt)
1 county in NC (Watauga)
1 county in ND (McIntosh)
1 county in NM (Bernalillo)
1 county in NV (Washoe)
1 county in OR (Washington)
1 county in SD (Campbell)
1 county in TX (Zavala)
3 cities in VA (Alexandria, Charlottesville, Richmond)
1 county in WA (Whitman)
7 counties in WI (Jackson, LaCrosse, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, Winnebago)

I guess, we can start figuring out where the New Deal has stayed the biggest deal

[ag]

counties where the last time a D got more than in 2008 was in 1940

1 county in AZ (Coconino)
1 county in CA (San Diego)
1 county in FL (Orange)
1 county in ID (Ada)
1 county in TX (Cameron)
1 county in UT (San Juan)
1 county and 5 cities in VA (Montgomery county and the cities of Harrisonburg, Fredericksburg, Norfolk, Roanoke and Winchester)

[ag]

1944 was the last true year for the Solid South. So this was a big year

counties where the last time a D got more then in 2008 was in 1944

7 counties in FL (Lake, Lee, Leon, Manatee, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Lucie)
4 counties in GA (Clayton, DeKalb, Dougherty, Richmond)
2 parishes in LA (East Carroll and Orleans)
20 counties in MS! (Adams, Bolivar, Clairborne, Clay, Coahoma, Forrest, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Jefferson, Leflore, Noxubee, Pike, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tunica, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson, Yazoo)
1 county in MT (Gallatin)
4 counties in NC (Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Mecklenburg)
9 counties in SC (Allendale, Bamberg, Charleston, Fairfield, Lee, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter, Williamsburg)
1 county in TN (Shelby)
1 county in TX (Dallas)
7 counties and 7 cities in VA (Albermarle, Essex, Henrico, Northumberland, Prince Edward, Richmond and Westmoreland counties and Danville, Hampton, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Portsmouth, Staunton and Williamsburg cities)

Notice that the southern cities mostly fall off the Solid South at this point (note the early call in VA 4 years before) - Obama is the first Dem to perform that well since then in New Orleans, Memphis, Richmond, Dallas, the cities of NC, etc., etc.

[ag]

1948 set the still standing benchmark for just a handful of counties (last time a D did better than Obama was in 1948):

1 county in ID (Teton)
2 counties in TX (Culberson, El Paso - it takes a while to get to El Paso, I guess )
2 counties and 2 cities in VA (Chesterfield and Lancaster counties, Hopewell and Newport News cities)

[ag]

Now, for a D result set in 1952 and 1956 to remain unbeaten till this point, a place has to be special:

1952

1 county in GA (Hancock)
1 parish in LA (East Baton Rouge)
1 county in MS (Quitman)

[ag]

1956 has a few more, mostly stragglers from MS:

4 counties in MS (Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Oktibbeha)
1 county in SD (McPherson)

[ag]

Finally, a few counties where a Kennedy-set record still stands. 1960:

1 county in GA (Clarke)
3 counties in NC (Edgecombe, Vance, Warren)
5 counties in VA (Brunswick, Lunnenburg, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Sussex)

[ag]

So, the above is the list of counties where the highest results ever predate 1964. I will continue w/ counties in which though Obama beat Johnson, there were higher D results in the intervening years. There are no counties in which Obama beat Johnson and the last time a D got a higher vote share then Obama was in either 1968 or 1972 (I don't think anyone would find that surprising). But 1976 was notable:

2 counties in FL (Alachua, Polk)
5 counties in GA (Chattham, Cobb, Douglas, Fulton, Muscogee)
5 counties in SC (Berkeley, Dorchester, Florence, Lexington, Marion)
1 county in TN (Haywood)
5 counties and 1 city in VA (Floyd, Greensville, Halifax, Nottoway counties and Suffolk city)

 

[ag]

In many of the counties where Obama underperformed compared to 1976 he also underperformed compared to 1980 (surprisingly many places were loyal to Carter). So, here are the places where O>LBJ and the last time somebody was above Obama's score was in 1980:

1 county in FL (Hendry)
6 counties in GA (Baldwin, Bibb, Liberty, Lowndes, Sumter, Terrell)
8 counties in MS (Chickasaw, Copiah, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Newton, Scott, Simpson)
6 counties in SC (Aiken, Barnwell, Calhoun, Darlington, Dillon, Greenville)
2 counties in VA (Charlotte, Surry)

[ag]

1984 was a bad year for Dems. But Madison county, MS is strange: Obama far outperformed LBJ (41.95% vs. 7.1%), but Mondale beat him (45.82%) and nobody since did!

No such counties for 1988 - Mondale beats Dukakis on this score 1 to nil

Interestingly enough, not much in 1992 either (almost everywhere that could be on this list Clinton did better in 1996 then in 1992). The only exception is once again in MS: De Soto, MS

[ag]

There are, of course, many places where Clinton in 96 did better then Obama, while Obama beat LBJ, Gore and Kerry. Again, all Southern:

2 counties in AR (Crittenden, Pulaski)
13 counties in GA (Bulloch, Burke, Calhoun, Chattahoochie, Crisp, Early, Jefferson, Macon, McDuffie, Peach, Randolphe, Thomas, Warren)
7 parishes in LA (Caddo, Clairborne, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Tensas)
19 counties in MS (Amite, Attala, Choctaw, Clarke, Covington, Grenada, Harrison, Issaquena, Lafayette, Lamar, Leake, Lincoln, Montgomery, Panola, Rankin, Tallahatchie, Walthall, Wayne, Winston)
7 counties in SC (Clarendon, Colleton, Georgetown, Jasper, Kershaw, McCormick, Newberry)
1 county in TX (Willacy)

[ag]

counties where Gore>Obama>Kerry,LBJ

again, mostly South + parts of NYC. Considering the places we are talking about in FL, I am starting to be suspicious about NY Jews

2 counties in FL (Broward, Palm Beach)
22 counties in GA (Ben Hill, Brooks, Clay, Colquitt, Decatour, Dooly, Effingham, Evans, Irvin, Lee, Lincoln, Marion, Mitchell, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, Talbot, Tift, Turner, Twiggs, Washington, Worth)
7 parishes in LA (Bienville, Concordia, Franklin, Natchiotches, Richland, St. Helena, West Feliciana)
15 counties in MS (Calhoun, Carroll, Franklin, Jones, Lawrence, Lee, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Neshoba, Perry, Smith, Stone, Tate, Yalobusha)
2 counties in NY (Kings, Queens)
3 counties in SC (Edgefield, Hampton, Marlboro)

[ag]

Finally, Kerry>Obama>LBJ. Not that rare, actually (again, South):

4 counties in AR (Jefferson, Lee, Phillips, St. Francis)
3 counties in FL (Jefferson, Gadsden, Madison)
9 counties in GA (Baker, Candler, Glascock, Jenkins, Johnson, Miller, Quitman, Webster, Wilkinson)
12 parishes in LA (Bossier, Caldwell, Catahoula, De Soto, East Feliciana, Jackson, Plaquemines, Red River, Union, Webster, West Carroll, Winn)
6 counties in MS (Benton, George, Greene, Pearl River, Pontococ, Webster)
1 county in SC (Saluda)
2 counties in TN (Hardeman, Johnson)

[Eraserhead]

I don't find any of these all that surprising, honestly.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Wow, great work . I didn't know Obama rocked the Rez on the upper plains that much.

1984 was a bad year for Dems. But Madison county, MS is strange: Obama far outperformed LBJ (41.95% vs. 7.1%), but Mondale beat him (45.82%) and nobody since did!

Next to Jackson, way more Democratic than state average immediately after voting rights (voted for Humphrey over Wallace!), consistent losses in the 1950, 60 and 70 censuses and then mad-dog growth from the 1980 one onward, and now no longer all that Democratic. (2008 estimate is over triple the 1970). Presumably it was a Black rural area that got overwhelmed by white-flight.

[ag]

I don't find any of these all that surprising, honestly.

Of course. But it is still interesting to confirm

[nclib]

Deep South (sans Alabama, where there was no Johnson at all)

Now, what a change!

Obama gained in

31 counties in SC
61 counties in GA
29 parishes in LA
75 counties in MS

The biggest regional and national gain was in Jefferson MS (+81.51%)
listing counties w/ humongous gains would take too long. Interesting within state geographical changes, though: in many cases in places where LBJ performed best, Obama performed miserably. Nothing surprising though, alas.

In Miss. this is because there was very little white support for either LBJ or Obama, and with blacks not voting, LBJ also did less poorly in areas with few blacks. This areas are quite Republican now due to few blacks to offset the white GOP vote.

[Eraserhead]

I don't find any of these all that surprising, honestly.

Of course. But it is still interesting to confirm

Certainly.