Baltimore and Baltimore County — which report election returns separately — vote like a typical city and suburban county in the Northeast; in 2008, Mr. Obama won 87 percent of the vote in Baltimore and 57 percent in Baltimore County.
But the same is not true for Maryland’s share of suburban Washington. Mr. Obama won 89 percent in Prince George’s County and 72 percent in Montgomery County, both of which have been made more Democratic-leaning, at least partly, because the federal government is right next door. Both counties have a large population of government workers and government contractors, and both counties are more diverse than typical suburbia.
Simon Owens is an assistant managing editor at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Email him at sowens@usnews.com