TRAVERSE CITY -- Blue city, red county.
Ballots cast in last week's general election reflected Traverse City's support of Democratic candidates and Grand Traverse County's backing of Republicans, with few exceptions.
City voters, like the state of Michigan and the nation, gave the presidential nod to Sen. Barack Obama. The Democratic president-elect won 60 percent of city votes to Republican Sen. John McCain's 38 percent.
But when city and county votes were combined, McCain claimed 51 percent of the vote and Obama 48 percent. Nationally, Obama took 53 percent, and he won the state with 57 percent.
There appears to be an increase in Democratic support in the area, said Molly Agostinelli, chairwoman of the Grand Traverse County Republican Party.
"People are paying closer attention and they had something to get really excited about," Agostinelli said. "This change idea was something that really resonated with voters."
The city and county followed similar paths in the 2004 presidential election, but voters showed more support for Obama than for Democrat John Kerry four years ago. President George W. Bush won 59 percent of the county vote, and city voters favored Kerry with 51 percent of their votes.
"I don't think the county is the Republican stronghold it once was," said Ross Richardson, vice chairman of the Grand Traverse County Democratic Party. "It's still more Republican than Democratic, but obviously people feel they can vote for a Democrat when the right candidate comes around."
Richardson, a Traverse City resident, defeated Republican Dave Barr for a seat on the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners. In doing so, he became the first Democrat elected to the board in 20 years.
The city also is becoming more Democratic since voters backed Bush in the 2000 presidential race, Richardson said.
The number of registered city voters was up compared to the 2004 presidential election. About 220 more ballots were cast this year compared to 2004, but the voter turnout percentage was down from 74 percent in 2004 to 72 percent this year.
The county had a voter turnout of 74 percent this year, with more than 49,000 ballots cast.
Agostinelli noticed a high voter turnout last week at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, where she worked as a poll challenger.
"I was really surprised at the number of people who came in and were even in their 50s who had never voted," she said. "It was encouraging to see families come in."
Both the city and county voted to re-elect U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, but a higher percentage of city voters supported the Democratic incumbent.
Levin received 51 percent of the overall county vote and 62 percent of the city vote. He easily defeated Republican Jack Hoogendyk Jr. in the statewide race.
Republican Dave Camp won the election for the U.S. House of Representatives. County and city voters opted for Camp over Democrat Andrew Concannon, but a higher percentage of county votes went to Camp.
About 63 percent of overall county voters chose Camp, while 50 percent of city voters supported the Republican candidate.
City and county voters split in their support for candidates for state House in the 104th district. The county sided with Republican Wayne Schmidt, who won the election, while city voters went with Democrat Roman Grucz.
Voters in the city and county helped pass the statewide medical marijuana and stem-cell research proposals. Both proposals gained a higher percentage of votes in the city than in the county.
Voting by the numbers
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