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Clinton/Kaine Post-Convention Swing Sets Sights on Blue Collar Voters

The bus tour shows that the Democratic ticket will aggressively contest regions populated by more blue-collar white voters.
Image: Hillary Clinton Miami Rally
MIAMI, FL - JULY 23: Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democratic vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) attend together a campaign rally at Florida International University Panther Arena on July 23, 2016 in Miami, Florida. Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine made their first public appearance together a day after the Clinton campaign announced Senator Kaine as the Democratic vice presidential candidate. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)Gustavo Caballero / Getty Images

At the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine will embark on a bus tour throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. The tour is intended to be an unambiguous statement that the Democratic ticket will aggressively contest regions populated by more blue-collar white voters, the constituency that Donald Trump hopes to put into play.

The campaign says it plans stops in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and Youngstown and Columbus in Ohio. Those cities are all blue centers in otherwise relatively red areas; all are located in counties that President Barack Obama won handily in 2008, but they’re also part of larger swathes where there is a high population of white voters — many without a college education.

With the exception of Youngtown's Mahoning County, each city is surrounded on all sides by counties that supported John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012.

Franklin, home to Ohio State University, includes a more highly-educated and affluent population than other areas in Ohio.

And while the city’s Democratic lean doesn’t bleed into surrounding counties, its higher levels of education do. That could be ripe territory for Clinton, along with her affable (and white male) running mate Tim Kaine, to pick off loyal GOP voters who can’t quite stomach Donald Trump.

Here’s the breakdown of each county:

Harrisburg – Dauphin County:

  • 67.5 percent white, 28 percent bachelor’s degree or more
  • 2012 election results: 52 percent (Obama) – 46 percent (Romney)
  • 2008 election results: 54 percent (Obama) - 45 percent (McCain)

Pittsburgh — Allegheny County:

  • 79 percent white; 37 percent bachelor’s degree or more
  • 2012 election results: 57 percent (Obama) - 42 percent (Romney)
  • 2008 election results: 57 percent (Obama) - 42 percent (McCain)

Youngstown - Mahoning County:

  • 77 percent white; 22 percent bachelor’s degree or more
  • 2012 election results: 63 percent (Obama) - 36 percent (Romney)
  • 2008 election results: 62 percent (Obama) - 36 percent (McCain)

Columbus – Franklin County

  • 65 percent white; 37 percent bachelor’s degree or more
  • 2012 election results: 60 percent (Obama) - 38 percent (Romney)
  • 2008 election results: 59 percent (Obama) - 40 percent (McCain)