Why is Morris County still red? (Only major NYC suburb not realigned)

[Ignacio Upton]

Once upon a time ago, almost every major county outside of the city was red. Westchester, Long Island, Fairfield County in CT, and Bergen were all full of conservative nutjobs and country club Republicans. Yet something happend around 1992, when some of these counties started realigning (Westchester, Nassau and Bergen at first. Suffolk and Fairfield voted for Clinton 1996 and have been voting for the Democrats ever since then.) However, one wealthy county has avoided this torrent of realignment, and it's Morris. Dole even beat Clinton there by 8 points! My question is, why hasn't Morris become like Westchester or Long Island or Fairfield? Why hasn't Democratic numbers moved up?

[mcscajun]

1. I wish I knew. I moved here in 1991 and it's been Republican Country

the entire time. My little town here should be Democratic; it's mostly working class homes...the rich folk and the business owners mostly live nearby in more upscale towns.

But the county Democratic Party is becoming more active; many candidates (including myself) ran against previously unopposed Republicans in Tuesday's election. Expect to see more of that.

As to your original question; it's a good one, but I have no answers. Only the hope that things are finally changing.

[woldnewton]

2. Morris County...

is also really bad about cops stopping you... figures for the authoritarian Republicans (especially along Rt. 10).

Back to politics in Morris County, per se - Thom Jackson ran an inspired campaign, even earning himself the endorsement of the Daily Record, the local paper. But it wasn't enough to push him into second place.

I believe if Donald Cresitello, the new mayor of the now completely Democratic (mayor and town council) Morristown or Tom Dougherty, the candidate who challenged Cresitello in the primary, ran for assembly, they could unseat Michael Patrick Carroll when they were ready to run in the 25th district. Rick Merkt, however, will be in some office representing Morris County until he's ready to retire, however, as will Republicans in all of Morris County's local (with the exception of Morristown and Dover), county, state legislative, and congressional races.


John Murphy, looks to be the GOP's best shot of running against Codey or Corzine (whoever the nominee will be) in 2009. Of course, Morris County looks more and more purple than red these days, so even with Warren, Hunterdon, Sussex and South Jersey aiding him, there's no way he'll be able to win.

[Ignacio Upton]

3. Maybe Morris will come around soon

But it will be like...2016 before a Democratic Presidential candidate carries it.

[NNadir]

4. I know why Long Island, at least Nassau County, went Dem.

I grew up on Long Island, and it was pretty Repuke the whole time I lived there.

Nassau County was run by the Repuke Margiotta machine - the creators of Al D'Amato - many of whom, including Margiotta himself, went to prison. Ultimately the county went bankrupt - much as the US will do - and taxes had to be raised at the same time as services were cut - by State order.

Only then did Nassau County have enough, and even then it was a near thing.

To tell the truth, I know nothing of Morris County though.

The Dems however, swept LI this week.

[ramapodem]

5. Its still to rich

There are several towns in the area that are the richest in the country. The 11th Congressional District which includes all of Morris is one of the richest in the nation. We have to find a way to convince these country club conservatives to move out. And just remember it could be worse, it could be Sussex County with the religious conservatives.

[woldnewton]

6. That's part of the police state tactics by the cops...

trying to convince the poor and minorities to make it so expensive to drive around there that they opt to move out so the racists can keep the 'purity' of their county...

[Ignacio Upton]

7. But Westchester, NY and Fairfield, CT are also super-rich

Although Westchester has a lot of poorer urban neighborhoods, a majority of the wealthier towns voted for Gore and Kerry over Bush. Fairfield County is home of Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, and Westport and they have been voting for the Democrats in Presidential Elections since 1996, while Westchester has been voting Democrat in every Presidential Election since 1992. There were also people from NYC itself who moved out to these counties in the 1990's and did not change their ideology. I live in Westchester, and many of the "rich" people around here are moderate to liberal, although a lot of them are also Republicans. Last year it wasn't unusual for me to see a Kerry-Edwards sticker on a Lexus or Mercades. Likewise, if I were to drive further north to Putnam and Dutchess Counties, which are more middle class and blue collar, I saw tons of Bush-Cheney stickers. What makes Morris different from Westchester or Fairfield?

[AX10]

10. New Canaan voted for Bush both times along with Darien, 60% plus.

Otherwise, the other affluent towns went for Gore and Kerry.

[NJ Democrats]

8. I don't know

All i do know is that here in Sussex it is worse.

[woldnewton]

9. Let's do our part to turn it blue (or at least bluER) in 2006!!

A letter from someone who will probably be Frelinghuysen's opponent this November:

<...>

There was a lot of talk in our group about who would be opposing Rodney Frelinghuysen for NJ-11 (which is Morris County, western Essex, northeast Somerset, plus parts of Sussex, and Bloomingdale.) We were really looking forward to getting behind someone who might make an aggressive campaign despite all odds, and getting a message out to the NJ-11 voters on the things that need to be said about Mr. Frelinghuysen’s allegedly “moderate” record.

Fresh back from Camp Wellstone, I told the group that I finally came off the fence and answered that call in the back of my mind “If not you – who? If not now – when?” I finally realized that “we are the leaders we’ve been waiting for” and announced that I would be stepping up to challenge for this Congressional seat.

<...>

Tom Wyka





The full version can be read by those with a DFA account on the Morris County DFA blog

[GUYMAN]

11. Morris County

Just moved to Lincoln Park in Morris County, but from N.Jersey all my life so I know the area. Morris is a very affluent county, and in the western portion of the County it's pretty rural as well. Both make for prime Republican territory. There are a few towns like Dover (blue collar) and Morristown (wealthy but liberal) where Democrats can (and have) made inroads.

[Berzerkley]

12. Railroads play a part... me thinks

Westchester, Long Island, and Fairfield County all have some of the best commuter rail systems in the United States. Think about it... Montclair is probably the most liberal suburban town in our state and it has what... six or seven train stations? Do they even need that many??? LOL! Ridgewood in northern Bergen County is affluent and fairly Democratic and it has a train station on the Bergen and Main Line surrounded by a thriving downtown center.

Many liberals seem to hate the idea of spending their lives traveling from one random suburb to another when going back and forth from work and I don’t blame them. You really need a sense of location in your life and the railroad system is many people’s link to that location, namely a large urban center like Manhattan.