The Christian Science Monitor identified Baton Rouge as one of the 11 crucial cities in the Patchwork Nation for the 2008 Presidential election.
The Patchwork Nation is a project funded by the Knight Foundation that identified 11 places across the U.S. that have distinct voter communities.
These communities represent different demographics, and the projects seek to identify specific patterns in voters through blogs about each city. The Monitor said there is evidence that proves people’s voting habits are partially based on where they live.
The paper identified Baton Rouge as “Minority Central” because of the almost even split between whites and blacks, with the white population at 52.8 percent and the black population at 43.7 percent.
The Internet blogs for the 11 crucial cities will identify voting habits and provide information about similar communities around the country.
“They’re meant to give windows into communities, eventually giving us larger windows into the election,” said Dante Chinni, the project director for the Patchwork Nation.
Kirby Goidel, mass communication professor, and Ed Pratt, Southern University media relations director, were asked to blog for Baton Rouge.
Goidel said the paper chose Baton Rouge as a crucial city because of the almost even split between the black and white population and the economic boom in the city, while the rest of the country is on the verge of a recession. The Monitor’s goal for the Baton Rouge blogs are to provide an accurate perspective into the local community, Goidel said.
“I don’t want to pretend that I can speak for the whole community,” Goidel said. “My goal is to talk about things that are important in the fall election.”
Baton Rouge can provide a unique perspective to demographics, Goidel said. Though the city elected its first black mayor, the majority of the population voted for the Republican candidates George W. Bush and David Vitter.
Goidel said he wants to write about Baton Rouge politics and national politics because people can learn from a community’s local decisions.
Baton Rouge was identified as a battleground for the presidential election, Chinni said.
He said, in a battleground, the majority could vote for either a Democratic or Republican presidential candidate.
There are less than 10 states that are important in deciding the election because the majority of voters vote for the same party each presidential election.
Chinni said candidates do not try as hard to campaign in states like California or Texas, where the party lines are not likely to change.
Chinni said by studying the major cities in the Patchwork Nation there will be differences in similar cities. But similarities in cities with comparable demographics should provide information about whom communities will vote for in the presidential election.
—-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected].