Why the other suburbs matter too
I'm working on a few projects for future posts, but none are quite ready for prime time yet. In the meantime, I thought I'd throw together a few maps of the other metropolitan areas in the state. Are cities like Rochester, Duluth, and St. Cloud ringed by swing districts in the same way as Minneapolis/St.Paul?
The 2000 Census ranked the population of Minnesota's other 'urbanized areas' as follows:
|
Fargo-Moorhead
Duluth-Superior St. Cloud Rochester La Crosse Grand Forks Mankato |
142,477
118,265 91,305 91,271 89,966 56,573 47,115 |
(27% in MN)
(88% in MN) (8% in MN) (14% in MN) |
Leaving out the La Crosse and Grand Forks areas, here are maps of the other cities (in order of Minnesota population). They are all on the same scale as each other, but do note that these depictions are "zoomed in" considerably from the scale of the Twin Cities maps.
Bottom line: Aside from Duluth, these maps show geographic voting patterns around the state's smaller cities similar to those around the Twin Cities -- a DFL core surrounded by precincts which closely divided their votes between Bush and Kerry. Rural precincts, not surprisingly, tend to be predominantly Republican except near Duluth.
St. Cloud is the only one of these smaller metropolitan areas growing dramatically -- Sauk Rapids and Sartell are booming, and there is a band of strong population growth stretching all the way to the Twin Cities along Highway 10 (basically, all of Sherburne County).
Taking this information in, one might suggest that the DFL's recent special election victories in the St. Cloud area should be particularly encouraging to the party's supporters. I'm a bit more cautious -- one election does not constitute a trend. But it sure isn't bad news.
posted by DK @ 11:26 AM permalink
1 Comments:
this is the first time ive seen your blog-i LOVE it!! i was directed here btw, buy bob collin's polinaut blog-just so u know. u might wanna thank him. i love maps and statistical analysis. youre MUCH more informative than those annoying "pundits" on tv & radio
keep up the good work.
i would also say about the st. cloud area races #1 tarryl clark came close in '02 against kleis, on her third run she won against a guy with good name ID, but a horribly run campaign. she should be able to keep that seat. and mr. haws will hold that seat for as long as he wants unless he does so totally retarded thing like robbing a bank or molesting a child. its his for life. the only race im worried about would be bonoff down in plymouth/minnetonka. shes gotta watch out.
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