Republicans are being throttled in college towns across the country, imperiling their competitiveness in key states
In the past, US counties with flagship university campuses were often politically competitive, but Democrats are increasingly winning in blowouts.
- Republicans are more and more faltering in college towns.
- Counties where Democrats used to post modest wins have now become routine blowouts for the party.
- In recent cycles, the GOP has struggled with suburban and college-educated voters, an issue the party must address.
While Georgia has trended Republican for decades on the statewide level, the growing liberal strength in Athens — home of the University of Georgia — has boosted Democratic margins in Clarke County overall.
In 2000, then-Vice President Al Gore beat then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in Athens-Clarke County 52.5%-41%, a solid victory for a Democratic candidate.
As the years went on, the margins moved dramatically in the Democratic direction as the party's presidential nominees won increasingly larger shares of the vote in Athens-Clarke County, even as Georgia remained a GOP-leaning state.
And the Peach State was also changing.
In 2020, now-President Joe Biden won Georgia by roughly 12,000 votes over then-President Donald Trump, flipping the Deep South state into the Democratic column. And Biden won Athens-Clarke with a whopping 70%-28% victory, posting a nearly 22,000-vote margin over Trump.
