Obama's Worst Performance in a Congressional District - AL-04

by: admin

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Tue Mar 03, 2009 at 08:05:58 AM CST

In a sign that does not bode well for Congressman Artur Davis in his 2010 quest for Governor, President Obama only received 22.5% of the vote in AL-04.

Points of interest in this wave include AL-04, which, to our surprise, plummets past the West Texas districts to grab the dubious distinction of Obama's worst performance (at 22%). This district used to send a Democrat to Congress until 1996, and even Gore got 37% here... but this is Alabama's whitest and most rural district, where the southern end of the Appalachians and Birmingham exurbs meet.  

Below the thread we will discuss this phenomenon

This was a district in which Al Gore lost to George Bush in 2000 by a rather large margin of 24 points (37-61).  In 2004, John Kerry lost by 43 points (28-71). So, the margin was already trending before this election. But a 54 point margin seems almost unimaginable.

2. President Obama only achieved 30% in one county in this District - Etowah County. Gadsden the most populated county in the district came in at 30.24%. I am fairly certain Etowah by far as the highest percentage of African-American voters of any county in AL-04.

3. There have been weak Democratic Congressional Challengers in AL-04. The last somewhat competitive race was when Marsha Folsom ran against him in 2000. Aderholt still got 61% of the vote. Artur Davis will have to ensure that a stronger challenger to Aderholt enters the race. This would keep some people in the district from just pulling the Republican lever.

4. Hillary Clinton did very well in this part of the State during the Presidential Primary. Obama did not have a strong presence in this part of the state during the Primary or in the General. This was a mistake in terms of letting the Republican party get an even stronger hold on this part of the state.