97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live.
Every other Monday, Aaron is joined at 8:30 a.m. by Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling, for a longstanding regular segment called “What We’re Thinking,” looking at recent survey numbers and discussing what they tell us about American public opinion – election-related and otherwise.
Tom and Aaron discuss last week’s mayoral elections in Philadelphia, Jacksonville, and Colorado Springs. Democrats won in all three, replacing Republican mayors in both Jacksonville and Colorado Springs – a further sign of increasing Democratic strength in big cities, though the GOP has gained equivalent strength in rural America. (Does that indicate a “big sort,” where liberals are moving to the cities and conservatives are moving to the country? Not necessarily, says Tom: rather, it’s because of the increasing “nationalization” of local elections. Previously, voters who supported Democrats in national elections might still vote for Republicans locally, and vice versa; now, we tend to vote for the same party all the way down.)
Philadelphia’s mayoral election is significant too: there won’t be a party switch, but Cherelle Parker’s win in the Democratic primary means the ten most populous U.S. cities will likely all have female or non-White mayors by the end of the year.
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