I spent 50 days on the road this fall in the rural Midwest. What did I see and learn? Read on to find out... https://t.co/ASURruG6hF

The 1988 presidential election saw George Bush Sr. deliver a landslide victory against MA gov. Michael Dukakis—but not in his home state, where he eked out an 8 point win. This is the first time this election has been mapped in detail. Lots more maps/analysis below! 1/a lot

Labeling Wakefield as Middleton; I am very smart.

How the same towns shake out today:

Here's a closer-up glance at just how white Boston's inner metro was in 1980:

Next time someone older says some town near Boston only has white people, give them grace; it was true for them! In 1980, even places just outside the city were almost uniformly white. But now the metro is only a bit whiter than the U.S. (as I've defined it here, 64% vs. 58%.)

Scene - townie Italian deli, Revere; Good Luck, Babe! on the speakers; I’m videoing the juxtaposition. Sandwich maker (joking): Hey! Five dollahs a video! Me: I just thought the song choice was funny SM (grinning): Yeah, we know all the fuckin’ words to that. It’s unbelievable.

My heart just aches for the Blue Jays fans I’m sorry gang

What a travesty.

Massachusetts counties by non-Hispanic White %, 1980: Franklin - 98.8 Berkshire - 97.9 Norfolk - 97.5 Worcester - 97 Hampshire - 96.8 Essex - 96.8 Barnstable - 96.6 Nantucket - 96.4 Bristol - 96.4 Middlesex - 96.1 Plymouth - 96 Dukes - 93.9 Hampden - 89.4 Suffolk - 73.6

Earlier this summer I met someone who was so convinced I’d never heard of where she was from… reader, she was from Lorain County

Phenomenal work by my friends at @VoteHubUS! This should be your go-to reference.

Small example that illustrates how much the cultural class is diverging from “normie” Americans: The NYT Fellows page conveniently lists every fellow’s interests. Of the 31 fellows, not a single one lists football. (Two list public transit.) https://t.co/ZC7UBbxM9Z

I've found immense joy & friendship meeting strangers. I owe it all to trust: people feeling OK expressing themselves in endless ways to me. What happened today terrifies me — it shatters that trust. I trust you. I trust you are good. That you want happiness. That you are human.

Of course, she’s going to win by a lot almost everywhere, so the Lasso will be approaching dictator margins.

As you might expect, the Lasso roundly rejected Joe Biden in his 2020 primary bid. Bernie cleaned up with the undergrads; as for Warren, well, if the rest of the country resembled Jamaica Plain, she might just have had a chance at becoming president. #bospoli #mapoli

Boston's mayoral first round is tonight. Mayor Michelle Wu is likely to dominate in what I'm calling the Left-Wing Lasso, which usually votes 30-40 points left of the city. The Lasso combines artsy, undergrad-heavy parts of Allston with very lefty Jamaica Plain. #bospoli #mapoli

Now come the time honored tradition of Boston tricking new college students into thinking the weather here is great

The profile pic was a pretty girl. The DM seemed harmless - “hey.” For Jordan DeMay, among a targeted group of teen boys, often high school athletes, this was danger coming in the middle of the night to his small, remote town. https://t.co/CactEjiA1N

Helluva run for New Englanders in music right now

None of these words are in the Book of Mormon