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How Did NC Become an Electoral Battleground?

Posted by Coturnix on October 30, 2008
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This is interesting:

But voter behavior is only part of the change drawing political attention to North Carolina. Presidential contenders are increasing their focus here because the state has more clout on the national stage than it did as recently as the 1980s. The same population boom that has helped alter the political landscape in North Carolina has also led to an increase in the number of electoral votes the state is allotted in the presidential election. While some states (such as Illinois and Pennsylvania) have been given fewer and fewer electoral votes since 1980, North Carolina has been on the rise. North Carolina now has 15 electoral votes, up from 13 in 1988. While that is fewer than Ohio’s 20, it is more than some of the other traditional swing states such as Missouri, which has 11.

In fact, only eight states have more electoral votes than North Carolina (New Jersey and Georgia are tied with North Carolina at 15 votes). In an election where only 270 electoral votes are needed to win, the Tarheel State matters.

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Comments

  1. #1 Zeno
    October 30, 2008

    One of my friends recently moved to North Carolina because his job was reassigned to the east coast. He tells me that NC is full of transplants. Apparently the Raleigh suburb of Cary is known locally as “Containment Area for Relocated Yankees.” Next thing you know, they’ll be banning smoking in restaurants!

  2. #2 Coturnix
    October 30, 2008

    Yes, they are already banning smoking in restaurants ;-)

    I lived in Cary (you got the acronym right) for 9 months and moved out because I could not stand it.

    A few years ago, I started noticing lots and lots of Ohio license plates around. Now it’s more Michigan and California!

  3. #3 eddie
    October 30, 2008

    This is one way in which US is very different from europe.
    Such population movement would lead to disenfranchisement and some would consider it a refugee crisis.

  4. #4 aedis
    October 30, 2008

    Eddie,
    Are you European? Judging by your response I think not.

    Do you not know that free travel and residency is pemitted for all citizens of the EU between membership countries. I -a Scotsman – could easy live in Spain, France, Germany and work there, live there, get welfare benefit there, health care there etc. As they could do in Scotland.

    There has been a huge population movement in the EU. Scotland has its share of Poles and Lithuanians for example.

    Its not a refugee crisis, its just people going where the work is.

    I don’t see how the EU is different from the US in that regard.

  5. #5 eddie
    November 12, 2008

    Hi aedis. Thanks for your reply. I am european. I know, we do have free movement and residency but I don’t think this includes voter rights.

    Most of the movement in the last few years is from new entry states to EU but previous to that there was more from n africa and asia / asia minor. I think this is progress.