What county in the US had the highest percentage of votes for Obama?

[grantcart]

Surprisingly it is a county with almost no African Americans.

Here is what they look like:

With the 2012 U.S. election returns now complete, it’s possible to analyze the data and learn some surprising things. Via my Bloomberg colleague Gregory Giroux, here’s one of them: On Election Day, the most pro-Obama county in the entire United States was in South Dakota—and its population is less than 1 percent African American.

The honor goes to Shannon County, tucked into the southwest corner of South Dakota with a population of about 13,000. Ninety-three percent of the county’s voters supported Obama, the highest percentage of any county in the country. A notable fact about Shannon County: Its population is 94.2 percent Native American—it is home to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation—and only .08 percent black.

That makes it unusual among intensely pro-Obama counties, which tend to be majority black. Sure enough, the ensuing seven on Giroux’s list are all majority black counties. An additional majority Native American county—Menominee, Wisc.—comes in at No. 9, while Starr County, Tex., and its 96-percent Hispanic population rounds out the top 10.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-23/guess-which-county-loves-obama-the-most

[samsingh]

1. wow

[newfie11]

2. The Lakota usually vote Democratic

To bad the rest of SD doesn't

[sheshe2]

3. A big shout out to Shannon County!

Ninety-three percent support from Native Americans!!! WOW.

Thanks, grantcart.
Excellent find, you just put a smile on my face.

[possiblylogical]

4. Democrats always get the minority vote

This is only going to increase with the "This is America, speak English" movement and the statements about all the "advantages" minorities have.

[nomorenomore08]

14. Why pay any attention to idiots like that?

Seriously, anybody dumb enough to think that American Indians or African-Americans somehow have "advantages" over white people, is not even worth acknowledging...

[possiblylogical]

16. Obviously.

I was just stating a fact. If you say "This is America, speak English" you will not get the support of people who don't speak English. Likewise, if you say that you believe minorities have a substantial advantage over whites, than you will loose the votes of minorities.

Regardless of whether what they say is correct or not, they will still suffer at the ballot box for making such comments.

I think it is pretty clear that being born into either of the demographics you mentioned is a disadvantage.

[marble falls]

21. Advantages like no jobs, poor health care, poor education opportunities, high infant mortality.....

low life expectancy ...... some advantages.

[Botany]

24. Pine Ridge is no picnic

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/behind-22/

[greatauntoftriplets]

5. Fascinating!

I thought that my Chicago suburb did well -- 80 percent for Obama -- but we look like pikers in comparison.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Great catch, grantcart!

I love the picture. It alone speaks volumes. Peace. lmsp

[abelenkpe]

7. K&R nt

[Cha]

8. This is so Cool.. and what a great pic

to illustrate the county that had the most percentage of votes going to Pres Obama.

Thank you grant... this reminds me of how much I liked the Inspirational story of the Native American Women Warriors "promoting equality and diversity" at the Inaugural Festivities!

Native American Women Warriors at Inaugural

Over the past week, CBS and other news organizations have followed the NAWW group as they have made their way to Washington D.C. to participate specifically in the American Indian Society Inaugural Ball and Powwow and the Inauguration Parade of re-elected President Barack Obama.

According to CBS correspondent Byron Pitts, “We were looking for a story to do about a group participating in the inaugural parade and the Native American women warriors seemed to be a perfect fit. It is a story that probably most Americans didn't know. I think one of my lines in the story was, "all of them have different stories of struggle that led to great success." read more>>>

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/21/1180979/-Native-American-Women-Warriors-at-Inaugural

[DreWId]

9. Republican Meme

How long until the teabaggistan meme of, "Of course they'd vote for the guy who gives them government handouts?" starts appearing?
I had Republican (redundant in this case, the state being "South Dakota&quot family out that way a few years ago, I shudder to think of what my next dinner table conversation with them is going to be like...

[elleng]

15. It's already happened.

First comment: 'in other words, the more government dependent people who live in a county, the more strongly they support the democratic party.
surprise!!'

The first reply: 'ha! Facts disprove your assertion - the most dependent on government are rural whites - Republican voters. Not Native Americans in Reservations. Not inner city blacks.

Facts are stubborn things.'

An interesting 'conversation' ensues.

[Gumboot]

10. I dream of having....

... a Native American presidential candidate one day. I hope this will happen in my lifetime.

In the meantime, I'd love to see Mr Obama visit with the good folks on the reservations.

[Cha]

11. Yes, I hope he does.. meantime, the Native American Leaders have visited

him in D.C. where they held their Tribal Ntions Conference..



Obama Does It Again: 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference

Hundreds of tribal leaders descended on Washington December 5 to take President Barack Obama up on his invitation to attend the fourth White House Tribal Nations Conference of his administration.

The meeting, held at the U.S. Department of the Interior headquarters blocks away from the White House, signified a kept promise by Obama, who told Native Americans when he was first running for president in 2008 that he would regularly meet with them in an effort to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship between tribes and the United States.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/obama-does-it-again-2012-white-house-tribal-nations-conference-146106

[TheDebbieDee]

12. In my lifetime (I'm 51 yo), I look forward to the opportunity to vote for a Presidential

candidate with a name like Hernandez, or Patel, or Chin or White Cloud. It will happen - I know it.

[bluestater1966fgs]

13. I do too

Although I'm not sure if a Native American realistically has a chance to be elected in the near future. Then again, a lot of Americans never expected a black man to become President, either.

[catbyte]

17. Not surprising. President Obama kept his promises to us.

[roody]

19. Except the one about medical marijuana.

[valerief]

18. I guess because it's so small the GOP didn't think it was worth tainting their machines. nt

[Scurrilous]

20. K & R

[mikekohr]

22. Wopila Tanka Hecha Yelo Lakota Oyate

reprinted here by permission of author, mike kohr.
From "International Brotherhood Days" http://www.brotherhooddays.com/

-Interesting Facts- http://www.brotherhooddays.com/interestingfacts.html

Of all ethnic groups in the United States, Native People are the most economically disadvantaged, 22% live below the poverty level, nearly double the national rate of 12.4%.
Seven of the ten poorest counties in the United States fall within various "Indian reservations." Of these seven poorest counties, three are on the reservations within the borders of the state of South Dakota, home to many of the Lakota people.
Over the the last forty years, Shannon County in South Dakota, has been our country's most poverty stricken county. Shannon county is comprised of The Pine Ridge Reservation.
Pine Ridge has the nation's lowest per capita income, the highest percentage of families below the poverty rate, the highest percentage (63.1%) of persons below the poverty level, and the second highest percentage of children below the poverty level.
Indian Health Services reports suicide rates that are triple that of the national average.
Harvard School of Public Health reports that the life expectancy of Lakota People living on Pine Ridge Reservation to be the lowest in the United States, and only in Haiti is the life expectancy lower than the Lakota of Pine Ridge in the entire Western Hemisphere.
The average life expectancy of a man on Pine Ridge is 61, 16 and 1/2 years lower than the national average. At 70 years of age the life expectancy of a Lakota woman on Pine Ridge is 13 and 1/2 years less than the national average.
Unemployment on Pine Ridge Reservation ranges between 80% and 95% of the population of about 22,000 people.
The average household occupancy on Pine Ridge is 17 people. There are over 900 families on waiting lists for housing. Many of those fortunate enough to have a house live in sub-standard structures.
Thirty-three percent of homes do not have electricity or running water. Twenty-two percent of all homes are in need of major repairs or need to be replaced.
Seventy percent of Lakota people living on Pine Ridge Reservation do not have access to transportation.
Nationally, telephone service reaches 98% of the populace. On reservations phone service only reaches between 46% and 55% of Native people. On the Pine Ridge Reservation more than 70% of the homes are without phone service.
Native People are victimized by violent crime at a rate that is more than twice the national average. Approximately 70% of these violent crimes against Native People are committed by people of a different race. This cross-race victimization rate of Native People is substantially higher than black or white victims.
Approximately 30% of all Native People have been a victim of violent crime. This figure is probably much lower than reality however. Many Native People are reluctant to report crimes because of indifferent or racist attitudes they face in the criminal and the judicial systems.
82% of all rapes and sexual assaults against Native women are committed by whites, 6% of sexual assaults against Native women are committed by blacks. Indian Nations have no legal jurisdiction over White people or other non-Native People. Even if a crime against a Native Person is committed on reservation land, and if the perpetrator of that crime is a non-native person, justice must be sought in the white dominated justice system. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072707P.shtml 74).
In spite of all that has happened to the First Peoples of this land they remain extremely patriotic. In WW I, 7 of 10 (compared to 3 of 10 eligible men of the general population) eligible Native men joined the war effort as soldiers. This, in spite of the fact that they were not yet citizens of the United States.

[grantcart]

23. Thanks so much for your response and a lot of very eye opening information

Some of it I knew but a lot I was unaware of.