November 22, 2004

GEORGE BUSH'S RED STATE NATION. Quotable:
President Bush carried 97 of the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties, most of them "exurban" communities that are rapidly transforming farmland into subdivisions and shopping malls on the periphery of major metropolitan areas. Together, these fast-growing communities provided Bush a punishing 1.72 million vote advantage over Democrat John F. Kerry .. That was almost half the president's total margin of victory .. These growing areas, filled largely with younger families fleeing urban centers in search of affordable homes, are providing the GOP a foothold in blue Democratic- leaning states and solidifying the party's control over red Republican- leaning states .. Almost all demographers believe these "edge" counties will continue to grow rapidly, which means they will pose a growing threat to Democrats if the party cannot improve its standing there.
Hugh Hewitt comments:
Dems can barely imagine operating in these areas much less winning them because they are defined by church-goers and married parents with children, two demographic groups that view the Democratic Party as not just different but as an enemy of much of what they value.
PrestoPundit has been on the story of the signficiance of the "Married Parents with Children" demographic since the first exit polls began hitting Nov. 3. CNN's exit polling had Bush crushing Kerry by 19 points among these folks. Posted by Greg Ransom | TrackBack