New NPI Report shows Progressives Gaining in the Exurbs

Our New Politics Institute Director, Peter Leyden just sent this out. It's worth a good read, as it shows how progressives find new opportunities in Exurbia.

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Can progressives win in the exurbs? Today NPI releases a new Fall 2006 edition of our groundbreaking exurban report that argues – yes, we can.

Writing immediately after the 2004 election, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an influential op-ed called “Take A Ride To Exurbia,” arguing that Conservatives were victorious because they won exurban voters: “the Republicans achieved huge turnout gains in exurbs .... [they] permeated those communities, and spread their message.”

But today our new report from NPI Fellow Ruy Teixeira shows Brooks is out of date: conservative exurban strongholds are breaking down, and the exurbs are up for grabs for progressives.

The Report, The Next Frontier: A New Study of Exurbia, shows why progressives can prosper as the exurbs become more diverse and less wealthy. It provides convincing evidence from a raft of recent polls that exurbans are today open to progressive messages and ideas.

There are three ways to absorb the report. First, you can check out the Highlights Version that just gives the executive summary and selected passages that are particularly relevant this fall. This includes an entirely new analysis with regional breakdowns of critical states like Ohio and Missouri.

Then you can read the full 34-page report, that includes all that highlighted material as well as a comprehensive analysis of the changing urban, suburban and exurban landscape of the 20th century that provides the foundation for some of today’s biggest political battles.

You can also watch our recently released video of Ruy Teixeira presenting a slide show version of the report at an event in Washington DC.

If progressives can take back the exurbs, we can also take back America. This report shows us the way. And you can help by reading it, passing it along and promoting it.

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