Grand Rapids Area Election Results Breakdown

[GRDadof3]

Thought since many of you are probably active in voting, here are some breakdowns of how Grand Rapids area voted:

Kent County - President:

Barack Obama 149,855 50% - First Dem winner in Kent Co. in a long time AFAIK

John McCain 148,305 50%

Proposal 1 - Medical Marijuana - Passed at the state level

Yes - 174,496

No - 119,648

Proposal 2 - Embryonic Stem Cell Research - Passed at the state level

Yes - 134,469

No - 158,960

Ottawa County Alcohol Ban

68% of residents voted to repeal the ban and allow Sunday alcohol sales

Still digging for more. If anyone else can track some down, go ahead and post.

[LA Dave]

Thought since many of you are probably active in voting, here are some breakdowns of how Grand Rapids area voted:

Kent County - President:

Barack Obama 149,855 50% - First Dem winner in Kent Co. in a long time AFAIK

John McCain 148,305 50%

Proposal 1 - Medical Marijuana - Passed at the state level

Yes - 174,496

No - 119,648

Proposal 2 - Embryonic Stem Cell Research - Passed at the state level

Yes - 134,469

No - 158,960

Ottawa County Alcohol Ban

68% of residents voted to repeal the ban and allow Sunday alcohol sales

Still digging for more. If anyone else can track some down, go ahead and post.

[GRDadof3]

Wow! Shades of 1932. Engler was easily re-elected, I see, but he had no credible opposition. Amazing news about the Supreme Court CJ being ousted.

[GRDadof3]

Press is reporting:

City of Grand Rapids

Obama - 65%

McCain - 35%

For Kent County, it was the first time a Dem has won since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 (less than a year after Kennedy's assassination and Johnson took 90% of the U.S. electors).

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/news/index.ss...ty_with_br.html

Is Kent County shifting its demographics/philosophies, or was McCain up against too big of hurdles with anti-Bush sentiment?

[Veloise]

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP

First-time contender Scott Harvey 11,976

24-year incumbent

Clerk Susan Morrow 2,185

write-in campaign

[GR Jackson]

Thought since many of you are probably active in voting, here are some breakdowns of how Grand Rapids area voted:

Kent County - President:

Barack Obama 149,855 50% - First Dem winner in Kent Co. in a long time AFAIK

John McCain 148,305 50%

Proposal 1 - Medical Marijuana - Passed at the state level

Yes - 174,496

No - 119,648

Proposal 2 - Embryonic Stem Cell Research - Passed at the state level

Yes - 134,469

No - 158,960

Ottawa County Alcohol Ban

68% of residents voted to repeal the ban and allow Sunday alcohol sales

Still digging for more. If anyone else can track some down, go ahead and post.

[GRDadof3]

How did Proposal 2 pass by losing the popular vote?

[LA Dave]

Ehlers, Engler, all those Republican white guys look alike.

[GR Jackson]

In Kent County it lost. Those vote totals I show are under the Kent County heading. It won in the State of Michigan.

[Yankee Fan]

Ehlers, Engler, all those Republican white guys look alike.

[Rizzo]

Press is reporting:

City of Grand Rapids

Obama - 65%

McCain - 35%

For Kent County, it was the first time a Dem has won since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 (less than a year after Kennedy's assassination and Johnson took 90% of the U.S. electors).

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/news/index.ss...ty_with_br.html

Is Kent County shifting its demographics/philosophies, or was McCain up against too big of hurdles with anti-Bush sentiment?

[GRDadof3]

It's hard to tell a shift in Kent County based on the presidential vote. I think one of the better ways to see any kind of philosophical shift is looking at ballot issue votes (ideological issues) at the sub-county level.

[fotoman311]

Ehlers, Engler, all those Republican white guys look alike.

[GRDadof3]

Alright guys, it was a joke. Moving on.

Anyone think the Stem Cell Research amendment passing will affect the life sciences industry in Michigan?

[NorthCoast]

Is Kent County shifting its demographics/philosophies, or was McCain up against too big of hurdles with anti-Bush sentiment?

[GRDadof3]

Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan would have had a tough time in this election. This was more of a referendum on Bush than on McCain. People didn't even vote on sound political principles or logic. They just voted for the guy who was least like Bush.

2012 could prove to be different once the Obama image is tarnished by some policy mishaps (as happens with EVERY president) and as long as the Republicans don't nominate soemone else from the good ol' boy network. Giuliani, Huckabee, Romney, Charlie Crist, or Bobby Jindal would all make for excellent choices, especially if it was one of the last two.

[Rizzo]

I think the Ottawa County alcohol vote is pretty interesting. Especially since it passed overwhelmingly.

Interestingly, the medical marijuana issue used to be such a hot topic 4 or 5 years ago. Now it seems for most people, they believe that it's beneficial to people suffering with certain diseases, and won't cause an increase in illegal drug use and crime.

But you're right rizzo. With Obama it's hard to make a call. He won some pretty heavily Republican states like Indiana, Virginia (birthplace of the Confederacy), and it appears North Carolina. Some of those states haven't voted Democrat since before WWII.

[GRDadof3]

Weren't you talking about Kent County? My point was that if you want to determine if a shift has occurred ballot issues might be a better way to determine it. I didn't make an argument whether or not a philosophical shift has occurred in Kent County. What I noted was using other barometers to best determine if that shift has occurred. Has it?

[suydam]

Alright guys, it was a joke. Moving on.

Anyone think the Stem Cell Research amendment passing will affect the life sciences industry in Michigan?

[NorthCoast]

I'd prefer we keep the petty partisan swipes out of this discussion please.

[snoogit]

Yes. I was just saying that it probably should come as no surprise that the GOP took such a beating in Kent County, since they did on a national level too. But you're right. Ballot measures would be a better barometer. I don't know if you can reach any conclusions or not. That's why I phrased it as a question.

My instinct tells me that there are some shifts going on.

[GR Jackson]

I would say there are some shifts, isn't Kent County, and by extension some other counties in West Mi Experiencing a little bit of a population shift?

IIRC isn't Kent County in particular being hit with a lot of people coming from Chicago and Detroit while a lot of the older population moves out of state? This could cause a shift in demographics for KC.

That being said:

Man that looks nice and blue.

[GRDadof3]

This is the Coffe House isn't it? It is intended to talk about off topic discussions...is it not? This is a political thread and you did bring up the question.

It isn't petty partisan politics...it is my opinion and I have the right to express it. Heavens knows I get angry at the leftist attitude on here.

Part of the Obama campaign was based upon the whole idea. Wasn't his whole mantra change? This is the change he was referring to. He surely couldn't have meant a change the a Democratically run country because even before last night...more than 1/2 of the nation's governors are Dems. Liberals control both the House and Senate. Yet, they get none of the blame for the problems the country has endured recently. They have had years to try to fix it and came up with nothing. Why? They knew things had to keep getting worse in order for the Obama mantra of change to be truly effective to win the election.

I guess I didn't notice the part in the UP bylaws that stated that you can't be a conservative/Republican or have a different opinion from the majority.

Forgive me for talking politics in a political thread.

Please don't take any of this personal. I enjoy coming to this board because I like to know what is happening in the Grand Rapids community, especially since I no longer live there. Its just that sometimes it comes across as a very unfriendly place to be for those of us with different political views.

[NorthCoast]

I don't consider re-distributing wealth to be a sound political policy. It is marxist, class envy, and always ends with terrible consequences. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

But I will concede to you givent this is a GR political thread and I have no statistical data to substantiate my opinion.

[MuskeMI]

You're not debating politics when you say that more than half the voters made their decision without using "sound political principles and logic". Gimme a break.