I posted this observation on another BBS and received some vicious backlash from it’s denizens. So I thought I’d come to the worlds smartest BBS and see what the result would be.
When taking into consideration the states won by each candidate, certain differences between those states become apparent. Specifically, the “Gore states” are home to:
a) higher learning institutions that rank among the best in the nation
b) a larger number of high-tech companies and/or high paying jobs
c) a higher median family income
See for yourself.
This is a state-by-state breakdown of who won what state.
http://verticals.yahoo.com/cities/categories/medfamily.html
Is it unreasonable to assume from this data that citizens of Gore states are generally better educated than those of Bush states? The one state that doesn’t follow this trend is North Carolina. However, if you look at the election results by that states county, Durham county, wherein lies the famed Research Triangle, voted overwhelmingly for Gore.
I understand that this is an inflammatory remark and if you are a Bush supporter, you will find it offensive. However, I’ve yet to see a sufficient argument to dispel my conclusion, only emotional rhetoric and name calling. Can anyone counter my observation with data that would suggest otherwise?
As a resident of North Carolina, Durham county, in fact, I’d like to take issue with your statement regarding North Carolina. While Durham is home to the Research Triangle Park, the people who work there rarely live in Durham. RTPs workers are split between Wake, Orange and Durham counties, with the majority going to Wake. And, if you look at Wake County’s results, Bush won 53% to 46%.
I think your information is true but useless. Democrats have an advantage in large cities because of large concentrations of their base groups : unions, minorities, single women. People who live in and around large cities tend to have higher incomes than those in rural america and there is a larger market for graduate schools in those areas. If you are trying to imply that Democrats are smarter and richer than Republicans, keep in mind that Republicans do better than Dems amoung those who make over 30K and those who are college graduates.
However, the results for Durham and Orange counties are;
Durham:
Gore 63%
Bush 35%
Orange:
Gore 61%
Bush 36%
Therefore, if you average out the three main counties in the Research Triangle area, which is arguably the most educated area in the great state of North Carolina, voted:
Actually puddleglum (and I’m afraid I cannot find the link that shows the result) the financial status and education level of Dems vs. Reps is negligible. Your statement is based on data from the 60’s. More recently, Americans that have college educations tend to be moderates, with veiwpoints that correspond with both parties (i.e. fiscally conservative, favors a strong military, but is also in favor of gun control and abortion).
Given the close nature of this election, the moderate vote weighs heavy into the result.
Well, your’s is one way of doing research. A bad way, but a way nontheless. Looking at states and making gross generalizations is not my style. I prefer to look at the exit poll numbers at CNN and other news outlets. They show much the opposite of your conclusions.
Nationally, the vote by education breaks down like this:
…Gore…Bush
No high school degree…59%…39%
High school graduate…48%…49%
College graduate…45%…51%
Post graduate degree…52%…44%
So Gore got the under-educated and highly educated, while Bush got the ‘average’ educated.
The vote by economic status was:
…Gore…Bush
Under $15,000…57%…37%
$15-30,000…54%…41%
$30-50,000…49%…48%
$50-75,000…46%…51%
$75-100,000…45%…52%
Over $100,000…43%…54%
In direct refutation of your “higher median family income = Gore” conclusion, the polls show clearly that poorer people tend to vote Democratic and wealthier people tend to vote Republican. No surprise there.
Other observations:
-Gore took the female vote 54% to 43%, Bush took the male vote 54% to 42%.
-Minorities voted overwhelmingly democratic. Again, no surprise there based on historical trends.
-Age didn’t matter until you reached 60+. Seniors went for Gore 51% to 47%
-Married people voted Bush by 9%, singles voted Gore by 19%
-Bush carried slightly more of the Republican vote (91%) than Gore carried the Democratic vote (86%). This was NOT due to the “Nader factor” as he only carried 2% of the Democratic vote vs. 1% of the Republican vote.
If you take an average of college graduates and those with post graduate degrees, Gore wins 48.5 to 47.5
In the same link that you supplied from CNN, the Vote by Income category and the Vote by Class category, both of which should agree, do not.
Middle 48 Gore 49 Bush
Upper middle 43 Gore 54 Bush
Upper 56 Gore 39 Bush
An average of the three classes goes to Gore.
While, according to the CNN exits polls, it’s true that lower income voters tended to vote Democrat, it’s also true that lower income voters tended not to vote at all.
An average of upper class and upper middle classes would not go to Gore because the upper middle class is 7 times larger tham the upper class and so wuld be weighted more. Also since class status is a subjective measure and income is objective income is more reliable.