What one swing state can teach us about political polarization in America

The Washington Post: It’s no secret that city-dwellers tend to vote for Democrats.

This map shows how precincts in selected cities voted in 2008 — the last presidential election without an incumbent. In most cities, the urban core appears bright blue, and the surrounding rural areas lean more Republican. There are notable exceptions, including North Dakota’s red cities and left-leaning rural Massachusetts.

Precincts — which can include a few hundred to a few thousand voters — make it easier to spot this urban-vs.-rural disparity. These detailed neighborhood by neighborhood results make it clear how racial and socioeconomic differences play out at the ballot box.

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