New Hampshire News by Dante Scala

Another county that moved toward the Democrats in the 1960s and 1970s was Carroll County. By the end of the ‘70s, Carroll was still strongly Republican, but the county had lost half of its GOP tilt.

One key change in the 1960s and 1970s is the convergence of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties toward bellwether status.

Back in the 1960s, Hillsborough County had a pronounced Democratic tilt, Rockingham a Republican one. As the graph below shows, Rockingham voted several points more Republican than the state, Hillsborough several points more Democratic than statewide. But both counties tilted toward the middle by the early 1980s.

Nowadays, both Hillsborough and Rockingham counties tilt Republican in presidential elections. Four decades ago, though, they were polar opposites: Rockingham, then as now, voted several points more Republican than the rest of the state. Hillsborough County, however, voted significantly less Republican than statewide, as the below graph shows.

The “down time” after an election is a good time to take the long view of things. “How the pendulum swung,” starting today, is an extended look at how the Granite State has changed politically over the last half-century.

Our “units of analysis,” to use the jargon of the political scientists, are the 10 counties of New Hampshire. We will take a look at how these counties have voted during the past thirteen presidential elections, from 1960 to 2008.