By: Dijmosse

Thanks for this! The proportion of Democrats in the county stat is fascinating. Anyone know of other similar studies?

Re: the 2004 election/2005 suicide rate comparison. Is it possible that this is less related to political parties than it is to general theories of social integration (like, it sucks to be a loser, but it sucks worse to be a loser among winners)?

There is a study from 2005 – “The Politics of Hope and Despair: The Effect of Presidential Election Outcomes on Suicide Rates,” by Dunn and Classen – that explains the comparison mentioned above in terms of social integration/isolation. Their findings predict similar increases in suicide rates in blue states in the event of the national election of a Democrat. It will be interesting to see if this played out in the 2008 Obama win/2009 suicide stats. (I kinda hope no.)