Jordan-Elbridge Goes Red For McCain

November 13, 2008
By Kareen Preble

Jordan-Elbridge lies twenty miles outside of the city of Syracuse, but it feels like worlds away. Farmland and quaint houses replace the hustle and bustle of the Syracuse streets. At a mere two days after Election Day, perhaps, the starkest contrast between Jordan-Elbridge and Syracuse is their politics.

Barack Obama overwhelmingly carried Onondaga County with nearly 60% of the vote and won by a large margin in Syracuse. Yet, Jordan-Elbridge represented a rare trend in Onondaga County-not only did it turn red for George W. Bush in 2004, but in this election, the town strengthened its support for the Republican Party. John McCain triumphed with a 25% margin over Obama.

Dennis Pelmear, the Chairman of the Town of Elbridge Republican Committee said the town has a long history of being Republican and that “things in the rural community, I think McCain represented more.”

Patty Farrugia, a Jordan-Elbridge resident, was a McCain-Palin supporter. She said that the election was a popular topic of discussion in the town. She was also critical of the coverage of the election. She said, “now that the election is a day or so old, I'm more surprised that the race seemed to be based more on race and the issues were put on the backburner.”

While these Jordan-Elbridge residents spoke candidly about the election, most people did not want to comment on the subject nor did it seem like many wanted to publicly express support for their candidate of choice. There were very few election signs in the town and despite the large backing for the Republican Party; there were none for the McCain ticket. The support for Democratic candidates was more visible as there were several Obama-Biden signs.