Suburban blues: Where Democrats have gained most in California

JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Suburban blues: Where Democrats have gained most in California Republicans are in rough shape in California, still trailing in third place behind not just Democrats but also those with no party. The GOP gained a bit on independents this summer, but primarily because more independents were re-registering as Dems. Also not a new story: The election of President Donald Trump and an increasingly diverse American suburbia have not mixed well. Remember the “blue wave” of the 2018 midterms, when Democrats nabbed more congressional seats nationwide than any election since 1975? It was a dramatic expression of a historic realignment of our politics: Whiter, rural, less educated districts have shifted ever more reliably into the GOP column Suburbs — once the Republican Party’s base — have cooled on the GOP brand Your average suburban voter has clearly soured on President Trump . But the definition of “average suburban voter” has changed over the last two decades, as the suburbs swelled . Much of that population growth has been driven by immigrants and lower-income migrants from nearby cities. The electoral flipping of the suburbs has been particularly dramatic in Southern California’s inland regions. The most […]

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