America’s 100 most liberal-friendly counties: numbers 60-41

50. Broward County, Fla.
Largest city: Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale anchors a series of coastal towns between Palm Beach and Miami. This was once a heavily conservative retiree area, but increased diversity has made Broward a minority-majority county, thus producing the biggest Democratic margins in the state. The county voted for Obama by a margin of 2 to 1.

49. Providence County, R.I.
Largest city: Providence

Upper-class Yankees from Massachusetts once called Rhode Island “New England’s sewer”  because it was founded by people who found the Puritan vision too limiting. The tag was only reinforced when the state was almost totally remade by immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Quebec. Providence has always been the smallest state’s largest city, and the most Democratic place in the state with the highest average percentage given to Democratic presidential candidates in the last 30 years.

48. Monterey County, Calif.
Largest city: Salinas

The Monterey area has many claims to fame. Majestic Big Sur is in the northern part of the county. One of the most renowned golf courses in America, Pebble Beach, is located here. Salinas was the home of writer John Steinbeck. And the Monterey Pop Festival was the first major rock festival, presaging Woodstock by two years. Like much of coastal California, it’s in the Democratic column, voting about 2-to-1 Democratic in presidential contests.

47. Howard County, Md.
Largest community: Columbia

Columbia, Maryland is a master-planned community designed by James Rouse (Edward Norton’s grandfather) to avoid income and racial segregation. It has become more like other suburbs in recent years, but is still distinctive. Howard County is located between Baltimore and Washington, and different parts of the county are oriented toward each city. It is one of the richest counties in America, both on raw income figures and adjusted for cost of living.

46. Essex County, N.J.
Largest city: Newark

As late as 1940, Newark was the 18^th-largest city in America. It had nearly a half-million residents when race riots broke out in 1967, precipitating a textbook case of white flight. Today, Democratic mayor Cory Booker has won plaudits — even from conservatives — for championing school choice. Some of the interior suburbs of the city to the north and west are politically marginal, but the urban core around Newark is deep blue.

45. Camden County, N.J.
Largest city: Camden

Talk about a county with a split personality. Right across the Delaware River from Philadelphia is Camden, which earned the dubious distinction of being the city with the highest crime rate in the country. Its dysfunction is so severe that it is practically run by outsiders: Its police and school system are administered by the state. Beyond the waterfront, there are suburban areas that are prosperous. Cherry Hill Township is the biggest of these, and has turned into the major employment center in South Jersey.

44. Montgomery County, Pa.
Largest municipality: Lower Merion Township

The Main Line west of Philadelphia has long been synonymous with old money. It spans three counties, but the core is in Montgomery County. Communities such as Narbeth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Gladwyne and Bryn Mawr once defined country club Republicanism, but came into the Democratic orbit as the Republican Party became more populist. Montgomery County is Pennsylvania’s largest purely suburban county and also has blue-collar Norristown and the internationally famous King of Prussia Mall.

43. Bergen County, N.J.
Largest city: Hackensack

Bergen County in northern New Jersey is the state’s largest county. It has a few large towns, but is heavily suburban overall. The county was a leading indicator of the leftward shift of major metropolitan suburbs during the Clinton era. The eastern, more populated part of the county is generally solidly Democratic, while the western, more sparsely populated part is Republican-leaning.

42. Santa Fe County, N.M.
Largest city: Santa Fe

Before the Mayflower set sail for the New World, Spanish colonists were building present-day Santa Fe to administer the vast claims north of the Rio Grande River. While half of area residents have Hispanic heritage, most have been living here hundreds of years, setting them apart from the current Mexican immigrant population. Santa Fe is a small, middle-class city with two Whole Food and strict anti-smoking regulations.

41. Tolland County, Conn.
Largest city: Vernon

Tolland County is part western Hartford suburbs and part small-town New England. The biggest attraction here is the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The county is very affluent, particularly when its income figures are adjusted.

Check back tomorrow for the fourth installment of The Daily Caller’s list of America’s most liberal-friendly counties: numbers 21-40.