Source: News & Observer (September 15, 2012)
POSTED BY Natalie Baker on Thursday, September 27, 2012
Said economist John Connaughton, a professor at UNC-Charlotte, on N.C. being a potential swing state for the Presidential election.
Source: News & Observer (September 15, 2012) POSTED BY Natalie Baker on Thursday, September 27, 2012
15 Comments
Sarah Kearney
10/12/2012 02:09:42 am
The quote demonstrates how diverse North Carolina is. Geographically North Carolina has various types of regions for mountainous to beaches and all in between. It has many rural farming areas as well as large cities like Charlotte and Raleigh. Every county in North Carolina is different from the next. North Carolina has some of the best universities in the nation but has some of the lowest public school standardized testing scores. Because of this diversity across the board in North Carolina it is difficult to know what and who the people are going to vote for. Like when North Carolina was voting for or against amendment 1, all the counties that voted against amendment 1 were around universities where as the counties that voted for amendment one were in more rural regions. The needs of the people in North Carolina vary so much not only because of the geographic diversity, however that does play a large role, but economically the state is changing with small businesses starting up and large manufacturers moving off-shore.
Gilina McBride
10/12/2012 02:10:14 am
This statement shows how much North Carolina has grown over the years. Instead of being included as one of the Southern conservative states who will never change its ways of thinking, North Carolina is now thought of as a swing state. It shows that North Carolina is a diverse state that is no longer dominated by one opinion. It makes everyone's opinions matter more and also makes people care about getting their opinions heard because they could be the changing vote.
Rachel Daniel
10/12/2012 02:10:44 am
This quote is true to some degree of every state. In the past few years the political spectrum in North Carolina has become visibly wider. This is due in part to the numerous college and university opportunities in our state. College campuses and people who receive higher education tend to be more liberal politically. Even within my home county there is political diversity. The northern part of my county borders Chapel Hill and tends to vote democrat. The remainder of the county is more rural and tends to vote republican. Candidates should focus on issues that most North Carolinians can agree on while campaigning in North Carolina, like creating more jobs in America.
missywhite92
10/12/2012 05:44:28 am
I think this could be said about any swing state. If you look at a map of how counties voted, you can see the blue and red from county to county. Presidential candidates have to speak to the variety of North Carolinian's to try to swing them one way or another. Obama and Romney both know that there are certain areas of the state that need more attention than others so they look at it as separate little states. They have to start small to build up to win it all, so looking at North Carolina as a bunch of different regions is a good point to make.
Amy Kreis
10/12/2012 05:45:18 am
This statement by Connaughton is true in multiple regards. Geographically, North Carolina divides itself into three distinct regions, the mountains, piedmont, and coast. These areas attract different kinds of people, thus leading to a somewhat divided state. North Carolina is more than likely going to be a swing state in the upcoming election which shows the different region divide in NC. I think that now more than ever North Carolina has become a state where more people are moving into rather than out of. Raleigh has been continually ranked as a top place to live because of RTP and its proximity to three great universities. With more and more people moving into RTP, a greater diversity is being created. These people are coming from the North, the South, the Midwest, etc. and are bringing their political views among other values with them. It would be hard to describe the typical North Carolinian. Would they be Republican or Democrat? Attend a top university or a community college? There doesn't need to be an answer to this question though. These different regions allow NC to be an influential state in upcoming elections. However, as we saw in the Prop 8 election, there are more liberals in areas where there are universities. This could show that the younger generation is becoming the liberal voice in North Carolina, whereas the older population remains more conservative.
Charlotte Hill
10/12/2012 05:46:00 am
This statement predates back to the Revolutionary War in the division between Federalists and Anti-Federalists both in the mountain and coastal regions in North Carolina. In conjunction with the formation of major cities in the middle regions, North Carolina has developed extremely differently in all of its different regions. These trends in development continued throughout the course of North Carolina's history and can be seen with the primarily liberally voting in the mountain region, and the more conservative trend in voting as you move towards the coast. With the variety of attitudes and opinions found throughout North Carolina's history, we see how North Carolina is a combination of many different regions and is considered a major swing state in electoral ballots.
N'Yaisha Aziz
10/12/2012 05:47:10 am
It is easy to assume that North Carolina is a red state, especially as an out-of-state student. Coming from the liberal North, I automatically assumed every state below Washington, D.C. was conservative. I quickly learned the contrary after two years as a student here. North Carolina has become a purple state because of the number of students who pursue higher education here. These students come from all different walks; some more liberal than others. Duke is a private institution that pulls in students from all across the nation. Because it is not a state school, it has the ability to accept a lot of out-of-state students, many of who have taken “liberal walks” and choose to vote as North Carolinians. UNC also has a number of students from liberal states that have transferred here or were accepted as first-years. They, too, choose to vote as members of the state. Between Duke and UNC, it is no wonder the red nature of North Carolina has become tainted purple. It is evident the growing sense of liberalism in North Carolina is due to the number of young, liberal people in the state’s premiere learning institutions. Will North Carolina ever turn completely blue? I doubt it, but I see it remaining purple as long as more out-of-state students choose to study here.
Farrell Sweeney
10/12/2012 05:47:49 am
This quotation is true not only in regards to the geographic foundations of the state, but the attitudes within these regions as well. There is extremely liberal- places such as chapel hill. Then there are rolling farmlands and rural areas that are extremely conservative. You will find such a wide variety within North Carolina, that any politician hoping to succeed will have to acknowledge the fact that there are many different groups that they have to address within the state, and they will have to go about addressing different regions in different ways.
Paris Alston
10/12/2012 05:48:21 am
This quote discusses more than the geograhpy of North Carolina, it also discusses it's demography. In the past North Carolina could be seen as a mostly Republican state, and one could easily predict which candidate would win the state. These days job opportunities, personal and family circumstances and the attraction of North Carolina in general have brought many different people to the state who all have different values. Whether it be advocacy for gay rights and same-sex marriage or pushes for educational and health care reform, the issues of the 2012 election appeal to North Carolinians in different ways, making it impossible to categorize the state by any politician or political party.
Mike Harwell
10/12/2012 05:49:51 am
This quotation suggests that the state of North Carolina cannot be simply lumped into one category or another. North Carolina is made up of a variety of different political, social, and economic demographics, and that's what makes it such a unique and diverse state. Politically, the state is made up of a wide array of political affiliations; if it weren't, then North Carolina would not be labeled as a swing state. Socially, North Carolina can be argued to have one of the nations most diverse populations. Universities and cities strewn across the state are made up of many gay, straight, international and other individuals that contribute to the state's large socially mixed population. Economically, the state has its own make-up of wealthy neighborhoods contrasted by poverty stricken areas. North Carolina does not conform to one idea, view, or stereotype; North Carolina serves as a melting pot for countless cultures, beliefs and innovations.
Ashleigh Smith
10/12/2012 05:50:20 am
North Carolina is an incredibly diverse state made up of people from countless backgrounds. North Carolina is full of top colleges and universities, which brings an even large pool of people with different viewpoints in. The fact that North Carolina is such a diverse state and made up of people with lots of different views contributes to the idea that it is a swing state. Even in the voting of amendment one, different regions in the state had extremely different viewpoints and ideas of how they wanted to vote. It is hard to get a large group of people on the same page and the presidents will really have to think who the largest and easiest target group is for winning North Carolina over.
Katie Fiore
10/12/2012 05:50:56 am
As someone who lived and grew up in Western North Carolina and then headed eastward for college, I could not agree more with this statement (based on personal experience). Growing up in a small mountain town where so many people are alike lead me to believe that the same holds true throughout the state. How naive? I came to UNC and was stunned at the diversity in beliefs and opinions. While it was hard to adjust to, I soon came o appreciate the diversity. Now, I realize that it's this diversity, in part, that makes North Carolina such a fantastic state. We are so diverse in many aspects (not just political beliefs), but that's part of what draws so many to the state. This diversity, I'm sure, causes worry for the presidential candidates, but without it North Carolina would not be North Carolina.
Caroline Harrell
10/12/2012 05:51:53 am
Being someone who has lived in the mountains of North Carolina their whole life, and then coming to college in the Piedmont, I can definitely agree with this statement. Each section of North Carolina is unique in its own way due to the developments in each region. This statement also applies to the history of North Carolina. A state that used to predominately red in elections, has now become a swing state because of the influx of young-adult students traveling in for school. Some of these out of state students can bring a more liberal view to the state. I feel like this could also be said about a lot of states. Each candidate for the presidential election will have to appeal to the different interests of each area in order to win North Carolina.
Meg McNeill
10/12/2012 05:54:50 am
This quote could not be more true. I've lived in North Carolina my entire life and am stilled amazed by the diversity one can find by simply driving 20 or 30 minutes away from their home. The "different regions" can refer to a number of things. For example, the wide range of views concerning Amendment One in May or our status as a swing state in the upcoming elections. The larger cities of the state, like Charlotte, Raleigh or Greensboro mostly qualify as ideologically (and socially) liberal, while the smaller towns have remained traditionally conservative. While there are quite a few "different regions" that make up our beautiful state, there are also a number of things that bind the citizens together--like NC BBQ, a love for college basketball, or the pride in our vast mountain ranges. I love North Carolina for its differences and diversity. It would be quite a boring place if everything were the same.
Tara Elizabeth
10/12/2012 05:55:40 am
I am not a native North Carolinian. As a student at UNC, I am able to vote in North Carolina using just my student ID as my form of identification. Leave a Reply. |