The Post had a great article over the weekend about what it called the nation’s “New Political Geography“: poorer, rural areas trending from the Dems to the GOP and more affluent metro areas trending from the red to blue.

It’s a well-documented phenomenon, but I think the Post has some unique and interesting features that are worth highlighting.

First of all, they took a smart look at the electoral map and identified great examples of communities in transition. And secondly, they produced this sharp map that shows the 8 out of the 10 wealthiest states choose Ford in 1976, and 8 out of 10 went with Kerry in 2004 (the exceptions being swing states Virginia and Colorado).

Here’s a snippet of their analysis, followed by the map:

“Affluent suburbs that were once solidly Republican have edged toward a split or turned Democratic, threatening to put big states out of the GOP’s reach for good: Bergen County, N.J., and New York’s Long Island; the ‘collar’ counties outside Chicago; Montgomery and Bucks counties outside Philadelphia.

“Now, the trend is hitting in swing states and ones Republicans long counted as safe, in places such as southern New Hampshire, North Carolina’s Research Triangle, suburban St. Louis County and even Colorado’s Douglas County, a booming Denver suburb that is still Republican but seeing more Democrats moving in from Southern California.

“Meanwhile, Republicans have made gains in the Democrats’ New Deal base — places such as West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. In the 2004 election, Bush won outlying exurbs with the fastest rate of population growth, though those areas have gained fewer voters than the closer-in suburbs where Democrats dominate.”