Interesting article re: voting trends of Ohio's District 2

[theHandpuppet]

Surfing the web I came across this interesting article about voting patterns in Ohio's D2. Perhaps this has been posted here at some time, but I thought it was worth a look if not a revisiting:

http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/elections/index.html

The pertinent section is about 2/3 of the way down the page.

(Excerpts)

Looking ahead, what are the key takeaways for Democrats in 2006? The biggest lesson is that there is a clear split between pure rural areas, small towns, and "exurbs". The exurban counties of Warren and Clermont were so heavily Republican in 2004 that even a 12 point swing resulted in a GOP landslide; in addition, the Republican candidate held her ground . On the other hand, Adams and Brown Counties, which have the smallest populations, swung the most towards Hackett.

The next lesson also comes out of the surprising rural swing towards Hackett in rural areas. Democrats have a terrific opportunity to make sweeping gains at the local level in Ohio. It would behoove the Progressive Majority to find Democrats who want to run for office -- County Commissioner, mayor, probate court judge, cemetry commissioner, you name it -- in Brown, Adams, Scioto, and Pike Counties. Winning local elections is hugely important work, since it both shows residents that Democrats can govern and builds the bench for future election.

The third lesson is to show these rural areas some love. They don't get a lot of attention in national elections because of the perception that there aren't enough votes to matter, and Democrats are better off just trying to squeeze a few more voters out of urban areas. But the Hackett election shows that rural voters can be convinced to vote D if the right candidate comes along. Perhaps this is a result of a lack of higher education, leading to more dinner table politics; perhaps it's a result of more intense local media coverage; perhaps something else. But a nationwide swing of 12-15% of "Country Folk", who compromise 21% of the population, would be enough to make Democrats the majority again.

The fourth lesson is that Mike DeWine might want to buy a new set of golf clubs, because he's going to have a lot of free time starting in December of 2006.

[roseBudd]

1. I think Hackett would have won the urban districts in Cincinnati...

in a number that would have negated Clermont and Warren except the big problem was lots of people did not know there was an election because it was a special election. I contacted Tyrone Yates because I remembered from a long time ago I had seen an election vehicle with a loud speaker driving around broadcasting for him. He told me who owned it and I passed that info to the Hamilton County Democratic Party but I never heard whether they got it together to use it.