Yankees Turned NC Blue in 2008

There's been a lot of talk on this blog and elsewhere about shifting party loyalties in North Carolina--particularly in the 2008 election.  Probably the best article on the subject is by UGAs Trey Hood and South Florida's Seth McKee.  Hood and McKee find that NC went for Obama not because of shifting partisan loyalties of long-time residents, but rather because of the influence of newcomers.  In a very readable article that draws from multiple data sources, Hood and McKee document the large number of in-migrants to the state and find that these in-migrants are more likely to be partisan independents, but also were more likely to support Obama. These are the folks that shifted the Tar Heel state towards Obama.  Given evidence that Raleigh is the fastest growing metro area in America, I'm guessing Hood and McKee's findings may be influencing NC politics for years to come. Who says academics don't write on stuff that matters?