Tag Archives: voting

Political Polarization in the US

US Presidential election results in North Carolina 1996-2012

As we start analyzing the results of the 2012 presidential election in the US, it is becoming clear that political polarization continues to increase across the country. Take North Carolina for instance. As the thematic maps above show, the number of counties where the Republican party won by 40% or more reached a new high in 2012. This year there were 14 deeply red counties, compared to only 4 in 2008. On the other hand, there were 10 deeply red counties in 2004, which suggests that 2008 was an outlier due to the extraordinary circumstances that allowed Obama to win the state.

First Names and Politics

An analysis of donor data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) conducted by Chris Wilson at Yahoo News suggests that first names may be a predictor of a person’s political affiliation. It turns out that Republicans seem to have a hold on names like Donald and Sharon, whereas Democrats attract contributions from people with names like Angela and Willie. You can play around with the data and draw your own conclusions using the embedded chart.

Of Beer and Politics

According to an article published by the National Journal, the brand of beer you drink is related to how you will vote in the upcoming elections. If you like Coors Light or Samuel Adams, you are likely to vote Republican. On the other hand, if you like Heineken or Guinness, you are likely to vote Democrat. Dos Equis and Bud Light are beer brands liked on both sides of the aisle.

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