Are NC cities Liberal or not?

[Skyybutter]

Interresting study on how liberal NC cities really are. Liberal

[redjeep77]

The only "real" liberal cities i can think of are chapel hill and asheville. Raleigh and Charlotte are very conservative for cities their size

[Skyybutter]

I have to agree with you regarding Asheville. I havent spent any time in CH. I did spend some time in Durham and thought it had a very open liberal feel. Charlotte tends to feel more conservative. However Mecklenburg did swing democrat in the last election.

[monsoon]

That article seems to have forgotten that we elected a Democratic Governer and it wasn't even close. The Governer in NC is elected by simple majority.

[NCMike1981]

Durham is quite liberal around Duke...especially Ninth Street, I love it there. Chapel Hill and Carrboro are awesome 2

[UrbanSoutherner]

That article seems to have forgotten that we elected a Democratic Governer and it wasn't even close.  The Governer in NC is elected by simple majority.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But like most southern Democrats (successful ones at the statewide level at least), the governor is not exactly a raging liberal. In NC as in other southern states, the Republicans are pretty conservative, the Democrats are overall quite moderate, and the really liberal politicians are few and far in between beyond the very urban or majority-minority districts. Most major southern Democrats who can win statewide elections would be moderate Republicans if they were in New England. Everything on this liberal-conservative axis is quite relative.

That being said, I do think you find more liberal attitudes in some NC cities, including Durham, Chapel Hill/Carrboro, and Asheville. But you also have more conservative cities like the military towns, the Triad cities, and even Charlotte (though that may be changing as time passes). I think the mountain region is also very interesting since it is more libertarian in some ways.

[appatone]

A town most people don't think about too often is Boone which is very liberal, of course a good chunk of the population in that town is made up of college students and professors. How many other NC towns that small could support that many vegetarian eating establishments.

[ilektronik]

I left the northeast in part to escape rampant liberalism. I hope that NC finds it's "happy medium" and doesn't ever sway as far left as the northeast. I'll have to move even further south then lol

[Dukeis#1]

The only "real" liberal cities i can think of are chapel hill and asheville.  Raleigh and Charlotte are very conservative for cities their size

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I always find it funny that people consider Asheville to be so liberal. It's a huge contrast to the rest of western NC.

Also agree with the above comment about Boone.

I like the balance of parties in the state. I just don't want it to ever become a political battleground...

[cityboi]

NC's big cities are definatly conservative. between NC's 3 biggest metros, the Triad metro is the most conservative.

[krazeeboi]

Epodunk.com listed Carrboro as NC's most liberal city.

[MR-2]

Carrboro is very liberal. Chapel Hill, Durham, and Asheville are also liberal.

The cities of Charlotte and Raleigh lean Democrat, but their suburbs are more Republican. I don't know about those triad cities...

If you go by politicians, Raleigh and Greensboro are taking relatively progressive stances on urban development. I think that reflects the trend that their immigrating citizens are generally yankees.

[cinco]

I left the northeast in part to escape rampant liberalism. I hope that NC finds it's "happy medium" and doesn't ever sway as far left as the northeast. I'll have to move even further south then lol

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

cuba?

[Plasticman]

NC's big cities are definatly conservative. between NC's 3 biggest metros, the Triad metro is the most conservative.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would have to agree even though I'm from Georgia. We have a booth the fall festival in asheboro every year and that town is in the heart of the Triad and is VERY conservative. It was almost comical how they had two democratic booths desperately trying to push the Kerry stickers and signs and only one republican booth. Yet we saw hundreds of Bush signs and posters being carried and almost no Kerry signs. It was great.

[NCMike1981]

As a young gay guy I feel perfectly comfortable being myself in any of NC's big 5, plus Asheville and Wilmington. But I hate the small country towns. Feels like someone is going to hit me over the head with a bible or attack me for being gay...

[MR-2]

I would have to agree even though I'm from Georgia.  We have a booth the fall festival in asheboro every year and that town is in the heart of the Triad and is VERY conservative.  It was almost comical how they had two democratic booths desperately trying to push the Kerry stickers and signs and only one republican booth.  Yet we saw hundreds of Bush signs and posters being carried and almost no Kerry signs.  It was great.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not to burst your bubble or anything, but Asheboro isn't anywhere near anything. It isn't part of any of the metro areas, and it's definitely not a good litmus meter for the rest of the state.

[AnEverydayJo]

NCMike, I couldn't agree with you more. Once you leave the metro areas it's overwhelmingly conservative. But still, I'd never show any affection toward my partner of 6 years in public in ANY NC city for that matter...the radical "religious" people are in every city. I even fear going into Gay bars at times depending on the city and area. These people give prime example for the slogan "Dear Jesus save me from your followers".

The most liberal city would have to be Chapel Hill due to it's domestic partner registration policy with Asheville coming in close second. I've seen people in other threads suggest Winston as a liberal city b/c of the NC School of the Arts...it's far from it! It's not Bibletown, NC, but when the people of this area vote for officials who run ads applauding their conservative views (Foxx..."I'm a conservative and make no bones about it"), you can't begin to think otherwise.

[MR-2]

NCMike, I couldn't agree with you more. Once you leave the metro areas it's overwhelmingly conservative. But still, I'd never show any affection toward my partner of 6 years in public in ANY NC city for that matter...the radical "religious" people are in every city. I even fear going into Gay bars at times depending on the city and area. These people give prime example for the slogan "Dear Jesus save me from your followers".

The most liberal city would have to be Chapel Hill due to it's domestic partner registration policy with Asheville coming in close second. I've seen people in other threads suggest Winston as a liberal city b/c of the NC School of the Arts...it's far from it! It's not Bibletown, NC, but when the people of this area vote for officials who run adds applauding their conservative views (Foxx..."I'm a conservative and make no bones about it"), you can't begin to think otherwise.

That's a pretty good way to put it, actually. Durham is also right up there with Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Asheville. Durham county tends to be the bluest in every vote-by-county map, swimming in a sea of red. Judging by the growth and the abundance of newcomers from the north, the Triangle cities will keep shifting in that direction, especially with the downtown revivals occurring in Raleigh and Durham.

[EastSideResider]

The article said that the African-American majorty cities voted liberal. But Charlotte has a higher black percent than Raleigh and it was 88th. Also it said that the south and western cities were more conservative, I can see the western cities but the south is pretty equal for both parties. I think someone mentioned it earlier but I think Charlotte is democratic, but it's suburbs are mostly conservative/some democratic.

[cc_runner15]

I'm not suprised at these results. Durham has Duke and NC Central. Although when I moved to Raleigh my impression of Southerns had always been that hey were hardcore conservatives which they really aren't since our Governor is a democrat, and I believe our state legislature is dominated by democrats. But it's alos odd to note our represntation to the federal legislature with both our senators being republicans.

[waccamatt]

A town most people don't think about too often is Boone which is very liberal, of course a good chunk of the population in that town is made up of college students and professors. How many other NC towns that small could support that many vegetarian eating establishments.

If Boone is so liberal, why is Watauga a dry county?

As far as the rest of North Carolina I am most comfortable in the Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro area. Asheville proper is fairly liberal, but it is surrounded by an extremely conservative area. In South Carolina, Columbia is, by far, the most liberal city. I'm also fairly comfortable in Charleston, but that's about it.

[JDC]

Durham definitely has a more liberal feel, along with most of the Triangle region it seems. But part of that, I'm sure, is due to many liberal "Yankees" relocating to the area. I think where you find more NC natives, especially in the 'burbs, is where most of the conservatives and/or republicans hang out.

[appatone]

It's funny that this thread was revived today. I never saw your post Waccamatt. Today in Boone there was an anti-Bush protest. It was only a couple hundred people though. Boone is probably the only town of 13,000 where Hare Krishnas stand on the corner handing out Bhagavad-gitas. Where dread locked homeless guys throw sparkly confetti in the air and then sell stories they've written about mankind working together in harmony with nature. Where political graffiti like "dodge the draft" out-numbers sexual inuindo on the bathroom stall walls in the bars. There are a good number of local bands. Look at the student clubs at Appalachian like H.E.M.P (or Help End Marajuana Prohibition). A walk down King St. will probably reveal the highest concentration of head-shops in the state. Those are in addition to other "hippie-like" stores like the vintage clothing store named after a Door's track. There is always a group of hippies hanging around playing hacky-sack, frisbee, or practicing Capoeira. For a town as small as Boone, these things are unique. These are some of the things that make me think that this small town is liberal.

[monsoon]

While it is true that Watauga is dry, Avery and next door Blowing Rock are not. There are 5 ski resorts in the area that bring in a very upscale liberal crowd and all of these sell beer wine, and liquor. I go to the Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk area and would say it is quite liberal.

[Dukeis#1]

I live in Avery. There is a very distinct line between the liberal (Banner Elk/Linville) and conservative (The rest of the county) areas.

Same with Watauga. Boone is a "flat lander" town that happens to be in the mountains, in the same fashion as Asheville. Just not quite as big...