Election seasons are always a great source of data, especially when the presidency is on the line. The following map of election results by county is not meant to show which candidate won Texas (that would be Mitt Romney). Nor is this map meant to show which candidate won each county. Instead, this map shows the relative strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. Obama did well in urban counties, while Romney was more popular in exurban and rural counties. The majority of Texas’ population now resides in the outer suburbs – areas hotly contested by both candidates. Obama also heavily outgunned Romney in the low-income counties along the Mexican border. As the Latino population of Texas grows, and immigration continues to be an important issue, how will this shake out in future elections?

It may seem cliched, but the red vs blue paradigm is high-contrast and color-blindness friendly.

Data Sources: Politico.com, US Census
Projection: UTM 14N (WGS-84)
Tools: QGIS, GIMP