Military Bastions

Representative community:

Hopkinsville, KY ( Learn about this community | Read Hopkinsville, KY blog )

American flags and yellow ribbons are common sights in these 68 counties, many of which border or encompass military bases. The 5 million-plus people who live in Military Bastions tend to be middle-income.

There is higher-than-average government employment in these locales and a strong service sector. They also tend to be home to reasonably large veteran populations and have an above-average number of evangelical adherents. Concentrated in the South, this group is consistently a GOP stronghold and probably will be again in the 2008 race.

Military Bastions and their politics are represented by Hopkinsville, Ky., in Patchwork Nation.