City Changes: The Urban Counties That Flipped Their Vote in 2008

By Tim Murphy
http://www.dailyyonder.com/city-changes-urban-counties-flipped-their-vote-2008/2008/11/12/1754

These are the 113 urban counties where voters supported one party in 2004 and a different party in 2008.

This chart lists the 113 counties where a majority of urban voters supported one party in the 2004 presidential election and a different party in 2008. All but one of these counties — Beaver County, Pennsylvania — flipped from Republican to Democratic.

The chart shows total votes for McCain and Obama and the percentage of the vote received by President-elect Obama.

The chart also lists when the county last switched its political allegiance in a presidential race. For example, the first county on the list, Jefferson in Alabama, had voted for the Republican nominee in every election since 1972, until switching its support to the Democrat this year.

STATE COUNTY COUNTY SEAT VOTED IN '08 HAD BEEN UNCHANGED SINCE OBAMA VOTE MCCAIN VOTE % VOTE FOR OBAMA
AL Jefferson Birmingham Democratic 1972 166,015 149,843 52.25%
CA Butte Oroville Democratic 1996 41,474 39,954 50.23%
CA Fresno Fresno Democratic 1996 123,132 122,255 49.73%
CA Merced Merced Democratic 2000 32,535 27,988 53.27%
CA Riverside Riverside Democratic 1996 210,905 197,517 51.13%
CA San Bernardino San Bernardino Democratic 2000 279,507 252,716 51.89%
CA San Diego San Diego Democratic 1996 632,207 520,030 54.33%
CA San Joaquin Stockton Democratic 2000 90,851 74,318 54.46%
CA San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo Democratic 1996 66,978 60,253 51.99%
CA Stanislaus Modesto Democratic 2000 75,106 74,025 49.82%
CA Ventura Ventura Democratic 2000 159,915 126,614 55.22%
CO Arapahoe Littleton Democratic 1968 128,366 100,409 55.44%
CO Broomfield Broomfield Democratic 2004 16,031 12,675 53.80%
CO Jefferson Golden Democratic 1968 155,020 129,291 54.24%
CO Larimer Fort Collins Democratic 1996 84,461 68,932 54.76%
DE Kent Dover Democratic 2000 36,392 29,827 54.26%
FL Hillsborough Tampa Democratic 2000 272,461 235,819 53.38%
FL Osceola Kissimmee Democratic 2004 59,081 39,489 59.69%
FL Pinellas Clearwater Democratic 2004 248,050 209,912 53.87%
GA Chattahoochee Cusseta Democratic 2004 830 811 49.97%
GA Douglas Douglasville Democratic 1980 27,825 26,812 50.52%
GA Rockdale Conyers Democratic 1980 20,526 16,921 54.29%
IL Boone Belvidere Democratic 1948 11,324 10,396 51.69%
IL DeKalb Sycamore Democratic 2000 25,765 18,260 58.01%
IL DuPage Wheaton Democratic 1948 227,416 182,860 55.06%
IL Kane Geneva Democratic 1948 105,592 84,223 55.27%
IL Kankakee Kankakee Democratic 2000 24,719 22,508 51.98%
IL Kendall Yorkville Democratic 1948 23,529 20,675 52.96%
IL Lake Waukegan Democratic 2000 111,051 85,284 56.23%
IL McHenry Woodstock Democratic 1948 71,976 64,595 52.33%
IL McLean Bloomington Democratic 1968 37,551 36,657 50.18%
IL Macon Decatur Democratic 2004 25,419 24,901 50.23%
IL Sangamon Springfield Democratic 1996 51,176 46,857 51.82%
IL Vermilion Danville Democratic 2000 16,228 16,046 49.94%
IL Will Joliet Democratic 2000 154,691 119,049 56.22%
IL Winnebago Rockford Democratic 2000 69,903 53,806 56.04%
IN Delaware Muncie Democratic 2000 28,356 20,904 56.90%
IN Madison Anderson Democratic 2000 30,152 26,403 52.58%
IN Porter Valparaiso Democratic 2000 39,046 33,796 52.98%
IN St. Joseph South Bend Democratic 2004 68,708 48,510 58.04%
IN Tippecanoe Lafayette Democratic 1968 37,709 29,789 55.24%
IN Vanderburgh Evansville Democratic 2000 39,368 37,449 50.75%
IN Vigo Terre Haute Democratic 2000 25,023 18,111 57.15%
KY Fayette Lexington Democratic 2000 66,042 59,884 52.00%
LA Caddo Shreveport Democratic 2004 55,536 52,228 50.93%
LA East Baton Rouge Baton Rouge Democratic 2000 99,652 95,390 48.20%
MI Berrien St. Joseph Democratic 1968 40,376 36,128 52.25%
MI Calhoun Marshall Democratic 2004 34,550 28,538 54.03%
MI Kent Grand Rapids Democratic 1968 149,855 148,305 49.68%
STATE COUNTY COUNTY SEAT VOTED IN '08 HAD BEEN UNCHANGED SINCE OBAMA VOTE MCCAIN VOTE % VOTE FOR OBAMA
MI Macomb Mount Clemens Democratic 2004 223,754 187,645 53.78%
MI Monroe Monroe Democratic 2004 39,180 35,858 51.64%
MN Clay Moorhead Democratic 2000 16,666 11,978 57.35%
MN Dakota Hastings Democratic 2000 116,778 104,365 52.17%
MN Olmsted Rochester Democratic 1968 38,711 36,202 51.08%
MN Washington Stillwater Democratic 2000 70,281 64,335 51.69%
MO Boone Columbia Democratic 2004 46,960 36,803 55.47%
MO Buchanan St. Joseph Democratic 2004 19,157 19,110 49.54%
MT Cascade Great Falls Democratic 2000 17,486 16,675 50.33%
NC Buncombe Asheville Democratic 2000 69,415 52,236 56.33%
NC Cumberland Fayetteville Democratic 2004 73,926 51,596 58.56%
NC Forsyth Winston-Salem Democratic 1980 90,712 73,304 54.85%
NC Pitt Greenville Democratic 1996 39,763 33,429 54.00%
NC Wake Raleigh Democratic 1996 247,914 183,291 56.93%
ND Cass Fargo Democratic 1968 37,577 32,515 53.14%
ND Grand Forks Grand Forks Democratic 1968 16,079 14,498 51.44%
NE Douglas Omaha Democratic 1968 112,460 104,030 50.20%
NE Lancaster Lincoln Democratic 1968 63,464 57,925 51.53%
NH Hillsborough Manchester & Nashua Democratic 2000 104,516 97,331 51.33%
NH Rockingham Brentwood Democratic 2000 83,673 82,102 50.04%
NJ Somerset Somerville Democratic 1968 73,785 67,221 52.00%
NM Sandoval Bernalillo Democratic 2000 32,451 25,097 56.01%
NM Valencia Los Lunas Democratic 2000 15,255 13,094 53.47%
NV Washoe Reno Democratic 1968 99,395 76,743 55.53%
NV Carson City Carson City Democratic 1968 11,622 11,419 49.40%
NY Dutchess Poughkeepsie Democratic 2000 64,759 55,601 53.65%
NY Orange Goshen Democratic 2000 73,299 68,896 51.42%
NY Rockland New CIty Democratic 2004 65,134 58,199 52.71%
NY Saratoga Ballston Spa Democratic 2000 51,932 49,734 50.95%
OH Hamilton Cincinnati Democratic 1968 208,802 187,862 52.33%
OH Lake Painesville Democratic 2000 54,786 54,441 49.69%
OH Wood Bowling Green Democratic 2000 32,956 28,819 52.87%
OR Clackamas Oregon City Democratic 2000 102,647 82,974 54.35%
OR Marion Salem Democratic 2000 61,241 58,625 50.00%
PA Berks Reading Democratic 1968 92,852 76,044 54.60%
PA Cambria Ebensburg Democratic 2004 30,697 29,981 50.31%
PA Chester West Chester Democratic 1968 135,150 112,266 54.43%
PA Dauphin Harrisburg Democratic 1968 69,588 58,114 54.26%
PA Beaver Beaver Republican 1976 39,738 42,358 48.12%
SC Charleston Charleston Democratic 1980 82,698 69,822 53.68%
SD Minnehaha Sioux Falls Democratic 2000 39,831 39,241 49.36%
TX Bexar San Antonio Democratic 2000 275,023 245,932 52.42%
TX Cameron Brownsville Democratic 2004 48,401 26,641 64.09%
TX Dallas Dallas Democratic 1968 424,468 309,477 57.49%
TX Harris Houston Democratic 1968 588,611 570,143 50.46%
VA Henrico Richmond Democratic 1952 86,262 67,340 55.82%
VA Loudoun Leesburg Democratic 1968 74,607 63,328 53.65%
VA Montgomery Christiansburg Democratic 2000 21,028 19,027 51.64%
VA Prince William Manassas Democratic 1968 93,385 73,087 55.85%
VA Chesapeake city Chesapeake Democratic 1980 53,993 52,624 48.91%
VA Harrisonburg city Harrisonburg Democratic 1948 8,444 6,048 57.46%
VA Hopewell city Hopewell Democratic 1956 5,285 4,149 54.26%
VA Manassas city Manassas Democratic 1976 7,518 5,975 54.82%
VA Manassas Park city Manassas Park Democratic 1980 2,460 1,634 55.62%
VA Radford city Radford Democratic 2000 2,930 2,418 53.52%
VA Suffolk city Suffolk Democratic 2004 22,233 18,592 53.98%
VA Winchester city Winchester Democratic 1968 5,268 4,725 51.47%
WA Clark Vancouver Democratic 2000 94,120 83,190 52.58%
WA Skagit Mount Vernon Democratic 2000 29,414 24,202 54.02%
WI Brown Green Bay Democratic 2000 67,241 55,827 54.37%
WI Outagamie Appleton Democratic 2000 50,255 39,641 55.52%
WI Racine Racine Democratic 2000 53,405 45,941 53.53%
WI Winnebago Oshkosh Democratic 2000 48,156 37,943 55.59%
WV Monongalia Morgantown Democratic 2000 16,853 15,612 51.57%