Liberalism and higher education
Waterhouse said the trend of higher learning institutions attracting more liberal people can be seen throughout the country, not just in Orange County.
“There is a general correlation with advanced degrees and a more liberal leaning,” Waterhouse said. “It’s not an absolute, but a correlation.”
Guillory said UNC’s public status makes a difference.
“As a public university, it’s part of the governmental structure,” he said. “People in institutions see a need for government and vote for like-minded people.”
Daniel Ashley, county chairperson of the Orange County Republican Party, agreed that the University plays a big role in the county’s liberalism, but he said it’s potentially problematic.
“There are conservative students at UNC-Chapel Hill, but if they want to get an ‘A’ in class and all their professors are liberal, how much discussion does that allow them?” Ashley said.
Still, Guillory said Chapel Hill and Orange County have become leaders in progressive and social change for others in the state and the country.
“The presence of UNC in the state has meant a lot to North Carolina’s reputation around the country,” Guillory said. “More progressive forces in the South through the Great Depression and civil rights movement have looked at Chapel Hill as a beacon. While Orange County and Chapel Hill stand out, it’s important to realize how much Chapel Hill has influenced North Carolina’s brand across the South and across the nation.”
A progressive history
Chapel Hill’s historical liberalism goes hand-in-hand with its social progressiveness.
Former Chapel Hill Mayor Howard Lee agreed.
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“In 1966, I tried to buy a house outside of the black section of town,” Lee said. “I had an extremely difficult time finding a realtor who would sell me a house.”
Lee eventually bought the house, and three years later, he was elected as Chapel Hill’s first African-American mayor and the first African-American mayor of a majority white town in the South.
Lee said he was elected mayor mainly due to involvement by students and others who had connections with the University. Lee said it’s the county’s cooperation that makes it so unique.
“This area embodies what communities can do when we can reach across divides to connect with each other,” he said.
For Hughes, the description of Orange County as historically liberal isn’t necessarily correct.
“I wouldn’t say historically liberal, I would say historically democratic,” he said. “Philosophies have ebbed and flowed over the years.”
Lee ran for mayor as a Democrat, but he said party ideology has since changed.
“The Democratic party was controlled by conservative things,” Lee said. “We were progressive, fighting for access to be a part of the party. The party was more conservative back then. It began to take a turn in the early 1970s as more new people moved in, along with more educated people.”
Ashley said there are about 115,000 registered voters in Orange County, including about 18,000 registered Republicans and a growing number of unaffiliated voters.
“They’re the fastest growing segment right now,” Ashley said. “Democrats have lost just as many, if not more people, than Republicans have. It’s the first time they’ve fallen below 50 percent registered Democrats. You’ve got to be unaffiliated to have any say in races because of the way the system is set up.”
Matt Hughes said the number of registered Democrats in Orange County — about 54,000 — has fallen slightly, but he said he’s not worried.
“Two-thirds of unaffiliated voters (in Orange County) vote Democratic,” Hughes said. “Maybe folks just don’t like to be partisan.”
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