Round-up of the best election analysis

Has it already been a week since we elected a new mayor?

The narrow victory of Anthony Foxx over John Lassiter, coupled with a near-Democratic sweep of the at-large City Council seats, prompted a bevy of insightful analysis. Here’s the best:

Brian Francis, veteran local political consultant (although not currently working with anyone, to my knowledge) offers a look at the numbers that includes this:

"I draw two conclusions from this data that are more nuanced than “Charlotte is becoming more divided by partisanship.”  1.  Straight party Democratic precincts are on the rise.  2.  When precincts split tickets, they are more likely to give their votes to candidates who don’t win.  So what did 2009 deliver?  More partisanship."

The Charlotte Observer political reporter Jim Morrill–one of the best in the biz–explains that 30 precincts that McCrory took two years ago went for Foxx this time around. :

"Foxx’s victory came not only from strong support in the African American community and a massive voter turnout effort. It also was powered by the reversal of those 30 precincts, most of them predominantly white."

Libertarian blogger Jeff Taylor (MeckDeck) takes a closer look at those 30 precincts:

"If you had to point to one thing that killed Lassiter on Election Day, I would start with those South Charlotte precincts that did not hit 30 percent."

Glenn Burkins, Editor of QCityMetro.com, posits that Charlotte has elected its last white mayor, sort of:

"In fact, outgoing Mayor Pat McCrory may well be Charlotte’s last "white" leader. When I use the word “white,” please note, I’m not talking race alone."